News

Washington, D.C. — Due to changes in the House Floor schedule requiring Members be present to vote, the Energy and Commerce Committee has postponed its Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials Subcommittee field hearing in East Palestine, Ohio, titled “Life After the Train Derailment: Ensuring Transparency and Accountability for the People of East Palestine.”  WHAT: A field hearing to assess the cleanup progress and community needs following the February train derailment and chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio.  STATUS: This hearing has been postponed due to changes in the House Floor schedule.  If you have any questions concerning the hearing, please contact Kaitlyn Peterson with the Committee staff at Kaitlyn.Peterson@mail.house.gov . For media inquiries, please reach out to Sean Kelly at Sean.Kelly@mail.house.gov .  

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials Subcommittee Chair Bill Johnson (R-OH) today announced a legislative hearing titled “Revitalizing American Communities: Ensuring the Reauthorization of EPA’s Brownfields Program.”  “EPA’s Brownfields program is critical to the cleanup and redevelopment of Brownfield sites across the country. By utilizing existing space and infrastructure, this program has taken development pressure off undeveloped land, helped increase local tax bases, and, most importantly, created jobs in communities across the country,” said Chairs Rodgers and Johnson . “We look forward to discussing reauthorizing the Brownfields program, which has enjoyed bipartisan support in the past. Members will hear from government officials and affected stakeholders about how to ensure the program’s long-term success.”  Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials legislative hearing titled “Revitalizing American Communities: Ensuring the Reauthorization of EPA’s Brownfields Program.”  WHAT: Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials Subcommittee hearing on reauthorizing the EPA’s Brownfields Program.  DATE: Wednesday, September 27, 2023  TIME: 10:00 AM  LOCATION: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building  Legislation to be considered:  H.R.___ , The Revitalization Through Brownfields Act This notice is at the direction of the Chair. The hearing will be open to the public and press and will be live streamed online at https://energycommerce.house.gov/ . If you have any questions concerning the hearing, please contact Kaitlyn Peterson at Kaitlyn.Peterson@mail.house.gov . If you have any press-related questions, please contact Sean Kelly at Sean.Kelly@mail.house.gov .   

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) delivered the following remarks at today’s Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials Subcommittee hearing titled “Protecting American Manufacturing: Examining EPA’s Proposed PM2.5 Rule.”  Remarks as prepared for delivery:  BIDEN’S WAR ON PROSPERITY & OPPORTUNITY   “For decades, America has been the best place to do business, while also ensuring we have some of the highest environmental standards in the world.  "America has done more to lift people out of poverty and raise the standard of living than any other nation in the world. “That prosperity and opportunity is being threatened today.  “President Biden’s radical rush-to-green agenda is raising costs across the board.   “People are suffering, every time they go to fill up their tank with gas, feed their families, and keep the lights on.   “Now, the EPA is attempting to take this extreme agenda one step further by proposing unattainable standards on fine particulate matter – or PM 2.5.   “This comes after EPA had already concluded the current standards are protective of public health, and this will be devastating for American businesses, people’s livelihoods, and our economic leadership.”  EPA IS CRUSHING AMERICAN JOBS & THE ECONOMY   “As we will hear from witnesses, if EPA finalizes these unrealistic PM standards, there will be far-reaching consequences, including pushing us further to the brink of a recession.  “These standards will make it nearly impossible to build new manufacturing facilities, including for things like EVs and semiconductors.    “It will undermine the work to expand America’s manufacturing base, making it impossible to secure our supply chains and build products that people have come to rely on every day.   “The harm would extend to nearly every sector of our economy as well, like power, agriculture, construction, and forestry.   “Studies indicate this could jeopardize hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S. economic activity and millions of jobs.”   CURRENT STANDARDS ARE ENHANCING THE ENVIRONMENT   “The proposed standards could actually make it more difficult to protect people from harmful air pollutants, a fundamental responsibility of the EPA.   “By all measures, the nation’s air quality has improved dramatically since the Clean Air Act was signed into law, and the current standards are improving quality even more.    “Overall, emissions of pollutants regulated by air quality standards have dropped 73 percent since 1980.   “Air quality for this particular category today is more than 40 percent better than in 2000.  “All told, U.S. air quality is the best in the world, and it’s getting cleaner.  “Just three years ago, the EPA confirmed that the current standards for PM 2.5 were protective of public health, following a comprehensive review required by law.  “Despite this progress, the Biden EPA is taking steps to introduce these new, completely ‘divorced from reality’ standards.  “This will force investors and jobs out of the U.S. and benefit countries like China, the largest polluter in the world with the worst environmental standards. "It could make air quality even worse for many Americans, as the new limits would prevent the needed management to prevent wildfires, which cause a lot of the PM emissions.”   GRIDLOCK LOCAL INVESTMENTS & BUSINESS   “This reckless agenda to crush American manufacturing will be unworkable for states and local governments, making it difficult to permit investments in their communities and grow their local economies.    "Behind me are the maps that show the current standard and the counties that are open for manufacturing, and then the nonattainment areas [with the most stringent proposed standards]. “A fifth of all U.S. counties could find that they’re not in compliance with the most radical levels the EPA is proposing.   “They’ll be gridlocked with new regulations and controls, losing opportunities to improve the lives of the people.    “Even areas that meet the standards will be unable to permit expanded or new manufacturing and industry, and depending on the level of these new standards, these burdens could extend across much of the nation, including the most economically active areas of the country.   "What we see is that the regulatory burdens and restrictions put in place already are crushing our economy, making it impossible to create economic opportunity. This is not how the Clean Air Act was meant to be used.  “We need to stay focused on the real goal, which is continued American economic leadership while also ensuring clean and safe communities for people and their families.  “This is how we’ve led for decades and how we continue to be a world leader in reducing emissions, improving air quality, lifting people out of poverty, and raising the standard of living.” 

Washington, D.C. — Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials Subcommittee Chair Bill Johnson (R-OH) delivered the following remarks at today’s hearing titled “Protecting American Manufacturing: Examining EPA’s Proposed PM2.5 Rule.”  Remarks as prepared for delivery:  EPA NEEDS BALANCED, REALISTIC STANDARDS   “For the health of our constituents, the environment, and the economy, it is vital that the EPA set balanced standards for air quality.   “The EPA has a long history of regulating fine particulate matter, referred to as PM 2.5, under the National Ambient Air Quality Standards or NAAQS.  “The Clean Air Act directs the EPA to review these standards every five years, and the last review of PM2.5 standards was completed in 2020.  “However, the Biden EPA decided to reconsider the PM2.5 standards just six months after the previous review was finalized — a discretionary decision that will have significant negative impacts across the entire country.   “In January of this year, EPA announced a proposal to lower annual PM2.5 primary standards from the current 12 micrograms per cubic meter to somewhere in the range of 9 to 10 micrograms per cubic meter.    “Now, this doesn’t sound like very much, but as I’ll explain in a minute, this can have drastic negative effects that would stifle manufacturing in our country and run counter to an administration that claims to have an industrial policy.   “Even worse, the EPA is considering dropping the standard to as low as 8 micrograms per cubic meter, a level that is approaching natural background levels in many areas of the nation. To my colleagues of both sides, this is not what the Clean Air Act was designed to do.    “Lowering the standard to 8 or 9 micrograms per cubic meter would put 100s of counties in economically active areas around the nation into nonattainment. And a standard of 10 is not much better.”  NEW STANDARDS WILL CRUSH AMERICAN MANUFACTURING   “Ultimately, EPA’s proposal locks these areas into a host of compliance obligations and oversight that extends years, even if they come back into compliance.   “What is more troubling, and a central reason why this administration should reuse its discretion and go back to the drawing board — is that vast regions of the nation will be so close to nonattainment, that they will be unable to permit new and expanded manufacturing and other industrial activities.   “The map behind me, from the EPA docket and testimony this morning, shows the problem: virtually every economically active area of the nation, would be negatively impacted by these proposed standards.   “Friends, we’ve heard from Republicans and Democrats about the importance of securing our supply chains and re-shoring manufacturing, I thought that’s what we want to do. But, this won’t get us there.  “When manufacturers seek permits to build and operate, they’ll have to show their modeled emissions won’t tip an area into non-compliance.    “As this map shows, vast areas of the nation would risk tipping into noncompliance.     “The National Association of Manufacturers commissioned a study, which indicated that lowering PM2.5 standards to 8 could threaten $87.4 billion in economic activity per year.     “The study also showed that lowering the PM2.5 standard would lead to the loss of over 300,000 manufacturing jobs annually.   “The harmful economic impacts of EPA’s proposal is staggering, not just for manufacturing, but for all sectors of the economy from energy to agriculture to transportation.    “Today we’ll hear from a panel that can help the Committee understand the impacts of implementing these proposed standards.   “Bryce Bird, the State Air Director for Utah, would be responsible for implementing EPA’s standards.   “And state air regulators are critical to implementing EPA’s standards, so, Mr. Bird’s perspective on the practical challenges states will face to design regulatory and permitting programs, and the impacts of lower standards—like problems mitigating wildfires—will be critical to our examination today.   “I’d also like to welcome Glenn Hamer, who’s involved in business development in Texas and can provide a regional economic perspective. And Tim Hunt will help us understand what industries will confront as they seek the permits to operate.  “And finally, I’d like to welcome Almeta Cooper, of Moms Clean Air Force, to share her perspective today with us as well.   “It’s critical that our hearing today uncover the real-world impacts of EPA’s proposed discretionary tightening of PM2.5 standards. We have a very knowledgeable panel, and I look forward to hearing from all of our witnesses.  “In closing, let me emphasize that the United States has decreased PM2.5 emissions by 42 percent over the past 20 years.   “We can and will continue to decrease air emissions, but we cannot do so under overly burdensome regulations that are impossible to implement.” 

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials Subcommittee Chair Bill Johnson (R-OH) today announced that the following individuals have been invited to testify at the field hearing in East Palestine, Ohio, titled “Life After the Train Derailment: Ensuring Transparency and Accountability for the People of East Palestine:”  “To continue building trust with the communities affected by the February train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, it’s important that we hear from those who have been directly affected, as well as the officials who are working to return life to normal. We look forward to hearing from community and local business leaders, the Ohio EPA, and Norfolk Southern about the effects of the derailment, the ongoing cleanup efforts and the actions being taken to address potential residual environmental hazards,” said Chairs Rodgers and Johnson.   The following individuals have been invited to testify:  Alan Shaw , CEO, Norfolk Southern  Trent Conaway , Mayor, East Palestine, Ohio  Tom Brittain , Owner, Brittain Motors  Anne Vogel , Director, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency  Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials hearing titled “Life After the Train Derailment: Ensuring Transparency and Accountability for the People of East Palestine.”   WHAT: A field hearing to assess the cleanup progress following the February train derailment and chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio.  DATE: Friday, September 22, 2023  TIME: 10:00 AM  LOCATION: American Legion Hall, 140 N Walnut St, East Palestine, OH 44413  The hearing will be open to the public and press and will be livestreamed online at https://energycommerce.house.gov/ . If you have any questions concerning the hearing, please contact Kaitlyn Peterson with the Committee staff at Kaitlyn.Peterson@mail.house.gov .  National Media should please RSVP to Sean Kelly at Sean.Kelly@mail.house.gov .  Local Media should please RSVP to Ben Keeler at Benjamin.Keeler@mail.house.gov .  NOTE: This is an official congressional hearing, not an open forum or town hall. Members of the public are invited to attend as members of the audience to listen to invited witness testimony. 

Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act passes House with Bipartisan Vote of 222-190 Washington D.C. —  Today, the House of Representatives took action on the  Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act  to protect America’s automotive future and stop California and President Biden from dictating the vehicles Americans can drive. The bill, led by Energy and Commerce Member John Joyce (R-PA), passed the house by a bipartisan vote of 222-190. As Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) said , “Gas-powered cars are much less expensive than EVs and continue to outperform them in range, towing capacity, and their ability to operate in severe weather conditions.”  Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials Subcommittee Chair Bill Johnson (R-OH) added , “If California is granted that EPA waiver, 17 states, representing 40% of the US market for new vehicles, are poised to adopt California’s exact standards. This would result in California effectively forcing their values and their mandates on all of us.” Rep. John Joyce said , “At its core, the vote on H.R. 1435 asks a very simple question: should consumers or the federal government decide what types of vehicles Americans can drive?”

E&C Republicans Demand an Extension of EPA’s Comment Period for Proposed PFOA and PFOS CERCLA Designation    Washington D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials Subcommittee Chair Bill Johnson (R-OH) sent a letter to the EPA urging the agency to reopen its comment period on a proposed new rule that designates all Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid (PFOS) as hazardous substances. Given the unprecedented nature of the rule, as well as the concerns raised during EPA’s initial comment period, the members requested the agency reopen the comment period for an additional 60 days. BACKGROUND:  On September 6, 2022, EPA proposed a new rule that would designate PFOA and PFOS as “hazardous substances” under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act ( CERCLA ).   The EPA has never—in the more than 40 years since its enactment—used its CERCLA authority in this way.  Furthermore, the rule was proposed without thoroughly reviewing the indirect costs and economic implications for designating all PFOA and PFOS chemicals as hazardous, which is why the Office of Management and Budget reversed EPA’s view that this proposal was not “economically significant.”  A hazardous substance designation for PFOS and PFOA would have permanent, far-reaching implications for manufacturers, consumers, municipalities, and disposal companies, and could jeopardize products and services that Americans rely on every day—including smartphones and home appliances, to life-saving medical devices, airplanes, and more.  PFOA and PFOS cleanup is urgently needed, but this rule raises legitimate and significant implementation and environmental questions that must be addressed.  KEY EXCERPTS:  “We urge you to give the American public a more robust opportunity to provide meaningful input.”  […]  “The public’s voices should be heard now rather than later in a hearing room or court room. We encourage EPA to reopen the public docket and extend the comment period for, at a minimum, an additional 60 days, to subject this proposal to a complete airing under the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement and Fairness Act, ensure an objective and transparent accounting and weighing of the costs and benefits of this proposal, and to reconsider and eliminate its potential negative public policy outcomes, especially those that are reasonably foreseeable.”  CLICK HERE to read the full letter.  CLICK HERE to read about Republican pushback to extreme PFAS legislation in July 2021.  CLICK HERE to read about past CERCLA proposals targeting PFAS. 

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials Subcommittee Chair Bill Johnson (R-OH) today announced a hearing titled “Protecting American Manufacturing: Examining EPA’s Proposed PM2.5 Rule.”  “Protecting people from harmful air pollutants is a key responsibility of the EPA. Just three years ago, the agency confirmed that the current standards for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) were protective of public health, following an exhaustive review required by law. These standards have implications across the economy, from transportation, construction, housing, to agriculture.  “That’s why we are concerned by the EPA’s recent efforts to circumvent this process by proposing new, even more stringent PM2.5 standards that go beyond what the agency’s own studies have recommended. These new standards could destroy America’s manufacturing base, while jeopardizing hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S. economic activity and more than a million American jobs. We look forward to this timely discussion, where we’ll hear from government officials and industry experts about the potentially devastating consequences of these proposed standards and how we can protect much needed U.S. manufacturing and economic development in communities across the country.”  Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials Subcommittee hearing titled “Protecting American Manufacturing: Examining EPA’s Proposed PM2.5 Rule" WHAT:  An Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials Subcommittee hearing to discuss the EPA's proposed PM2.5 Rule. DATE:  Tuesday, September 19, 2023 TIME:  10:30 AM LOCATION:  2322 Rayburn House Office Building This notice is at the direction of the Chair. The hearing will be open to the public and press and will be live streamed online at  https://energycommerce.house.gov/ . If you have any questions concerning the hearing, please contact Kaitlyn Peterson at  Kaitlyn.Peterson@mail.house.gov . If you have any press-related questions, please contact Sean Kelly at  Sean.Kelly@mail.house.gov .

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans, led by Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, wrote to Ford President and CEO James Farley regarding a new partnership with Chinese-owned Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) to build lithium iron phosphate batteries in the United States.  CLICK HERE to read FOX News's coverage: BACKGROUND :  Earlier this year, Ford announced it would invest $3.5 billion to construct a lithium iron phosphate battery plant in Marshall, Michigan.  According to Ford, its wholly-owned subsidiary will manufacture the battery cells using Chinese company CATL’s technology and services.  KEY LETTER EXCERPTS :  “While Ford has labeled this project a ‘commitment to American manufacturing’ and asserts it will create 2,500 new American jobs, we are concerned that Ford’s partnership with a Chinese company could aid China’s efforts to expand its control over United States electric vehicle supply chains and jeopardize national security by furthering dependence on China.”  […]  “Additionally, Members learned at this hearing that Chinese companies often supply their own workers to projects in Latin America and Africa, reinforcing fears that CATL will import workers for this facility rather that creating jobs for United States workers.”  […]  “We seek to learn more about whether this partnership, and others like it, will potentially exacerbate our reliance on China. Should China gain control of domestic electric vehicle production, the United States would be exposed to serious national security risks at a time of escalating geopolitical tensions.”  The Members requested information and answers to the following questions by September 18, 2023:  A copy of the complete licensing agreement between Ford and CATL, including any appendices, amendments, or addenda.  All documents and communications exchanged between Ford officers or employees and officials, appointees, employees, contractors, or consultants of the United States government referring or relating to Ford and CATL’s partnership and eligibility for tax credits and federal incentives.  Did Ford consider making a similar investment in a partnership with a non-Chinese company? If so, why did Ford ultimately decide to partner with CATL? If not, why did Ford not consider other partners?  How many CATL employees will CATL supply to the Facility?  What steps did Ford take to prevent or limit CATL’s ability to halt production unilaterally, such as at the direction of the Chinese government?  CLICK HERE to read the letter.