WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Gary Palmer (AL-06), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Environment, delivered the following opening statement at today's markup of seven bills.
Subcommittee Chairman Palmer's opening statement as prepared for delivery:
"Welcome to today's markup before the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Environment.
"Today, we will consider seven pieces of legislation, most of which are bipartisan.
"Three bills we will be marking up support the recovery of critical minerals and materials from domestic sources, rather than continuing to rely on adversaries such as China that dominate the critical mineral supply chain.
"H.R. 9615, the Battery Recycling for America's Competitive Economy or 'BRACE' Act, led by Representative Miller-Meeks directs the Environmental Protection Agency to consider modernizing and clarifying its regulation of lithium-ion batteries by updating its regulations implementing the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. These regulations predate the widespread use of lithium-ion batteries and potentially inhibit the growth of the domestic battery recycling industry.
"H.R. 9616, Environmental Monitoring and Remediation Technology Assessment Initiative or 'EMRTAI' Act, which authorizes a program at EPA to support methods to identify and recover critical materials at contaminated sites, contributing both to the discovery of new domestic sources of critical materials, and remediating contaminated sites.
"Additionally, we will consider H.R. 9617, the Coordinating and Harnessing America's Recovery of Minerals or 'CHARM' Act. This bipartisan bill, which I am proud to lead with Ranking Member Tonko, channels EPA's expertise on materials recovery and recycling into our government-wide efforts to secure our access to critical minerals by directing EPA to develop and execute a National Critical Mineral Recovery Strategy.
"We are also considering four Clean Air Act bills. As we've discussed before, the Clean Air Act has not been meaningfully updated to adjust to our present-day realities. As a result, outdated provisions currently result in overburdensome standards that hamper economic prosperity while doing little to reduce air pollution. The bills we will consider today provide commonsense solutions that update narrow provisions of the Clean Air Act while continuing to protect the environment.
"H.R. 2140, the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act, is sponsored by Rep. Langworthy and Rep. Matsui. This bill reauthorizes through 2029 the DERA grant program, which facilitates updating and replacing old equipment with newer technology or engines, improving air quality while growing the economy.
"H.R. 3194, the LOCMOTIVES Act, is led by Rep. Moolenaar and Rep. Obernolte. This bill amends the Clean Air Act to ensure that locomotive emissions are subject to a uniform federal framework, protecting our national supply chain and preventing increased operation costs from being passed down to consumers.
"H.R. 9317, the BUSES Act, is sponsored by Rep. Langworthy and Rep. Gottheimer. This legislation creates a national minimum standard for bus idling, preventing state and local governments from enforcing bus idling bans less than15 minutes, which will ensure that interstate carriers are not subjected to inconsistent local requirements or bounty-driven enforcement schemes. The up to 15 minutes of idling time is necessary for checks to protect driver and passenger safety, accessibility, and mobility.
"H.R. 9618, the Diesel Engine Flexibility (DEF) Act, is led by Rep. Fedorchak and Rep. Don Davis. This bill provides regulatory certainty by creating a 10-year safe harbor for actions taken relying on EPA guidance relating to diesel exhaust fluid quality monitoring and selective catalytic reduction inducement standards. This bill gives manufacturers, equipment, owners and independent technicians the certainty they need to move goods and protect supply chains.
"I appreciate the work on both sides to get these bills ready for today's markup.
"Thank you and I yield back."
