Ten Pieces of Legislation

C C five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, sixteen, eighteen, nineteen, nineteen, eighteen, nineteen, nineteen, eighteen, thank you and the chair will recognize himself for five minutes for an opening statement. Uh, good morning and I wanna thank everyone for attending today's mark-up. We're taking up several bills that highlight the committee's effort to support energy innovation, cut burdens to red tape and lower costs for hard-working Americans. We know that success for the nuclear industry, from the fuels, the manufacturers and reactors, to the operators and workers will be essential for long-term American technological leadership globally and for reliable and abundant energy here at home. We must strive to return to a pace of nuclear expansion that surpasses other nations, and we must do so in a way that strengthens public confidence in American technology. This morning we're considering six nuclear-related bills, the bill on the bipartisan reforms we sorted two years ago, with the Advance Act. With improved nuclear permitting brought the benefits of nuclear energy to fa- to Americans faster maintain our commitment to safety. The bills before us today clarify pay authority, improve transparency, eliminate unnecessary atomic energy, act requirements, ensure licensing runs more smoothly. The continued bipartiship work on nuclear policy reflects well on this committee's ability to advance critical energy policies And we'll see that bipartisan spirit reflected in several of the amendments to the bills before us today. And all of these bills deserve strong bipartisan support. We are examining legislation that will provide needed updates to the Clean Air Act. Outdated provisions in the law have contributed counter created counter-intuitive and burdensome policies that increase costs, and negatively impact quality of life across this country. These are common sense solutions. The bills before us will cover a range of issues, including ensuring that the federal government retains the authority to regulate interstate commerce on our nation's railways, preventing one state from being able to dictate policy for the rest of the nation, and reauthorizing a successful grant program to help us help bus operators replace old equipment with new technology. We will also consider a bill to support the recovery of critical minerals from domestic sources, by modernizing and streamlining EPA's regulations of lithium ion batteries, providing greater clarity and certainty for our domestic battery recycling industry. I wanna thank all of the members who have worked so hard to help bring these important bills before the committee. I thank all of our committees and the s- staff for working hard to bring, uh, in almost all areas, not every area, most areas we agree to agreement, and I really appreciate that and the hard work. And I thank you and I yield to the ranking member for his opening statement. I'm gonna recognize the gentleman from New Jersey for five minutes.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Today the full committee is marking up ten six nuclear bills out of our energy subcommittee, and four bills from our environment subcommittee. Nuclear energy plays a vital role in our nation's power grid, providing carbon-free power to the grid around the clock, but we must ensure there is public confidence that nuclear power is safe, and that the cops on the beat are keeping it safe. And one of the best ways to ensure that is through transparency. And I wanna once again state that my support for nuclear energy legislation is contingent upon the NRC, and the Department of Energy having sufficient transparency into their safety rules and regulations, so the American public can be sure that our nation's nuclear industry is safe. And that's why I want to compliment Energy Subcommittee Ranking Member, Caster, on her bill, HR nine O eight four, the Department of Energy Nuclear Transparency Act. It's an important piece of legislation that will help build confidence in the American nuclear industry as a whole. As the nation continues to invest in expanding nuclear energy, it's critical we have these important transparency guardrails in place. I want to thank Chairman Chairman Guthrie and his staff for their willingness to work with us on these nuclear bills. In July I expressed concerns about two of the bills before us today, HR nine six one two and HR nine six one three. On the Nuclear Advisory Committee Reform Act, the amendment in the nature of a substitute strikes a provision from the introduced bill that would have only allowed the Independent Advisory Committee on reactor safeguards to review and investigate issues if asked by the nrc but chairman guthrie's staff worked diligently with us to find a path forward that worked for everyone if the amendments for those bills are adopted i'll support all six nuclear bills on today's mark up we're also considering several bills from our environment subcommittee hr nine six one five the brace act will help increase the domestic recycling batteries and insure the critical minerals recovered from those batteries stay here in the us And this is a critical first step to get the EPA moving on a regulatory framework for lithium ion battery recycling that provides certainty for industry and address the safety concerns while maintaining critical protections to the environment and public health. And this bill is a compromise, so neither side got everything they wanted, but I support this reasonable approach. It's also not the end of the conversation on battery recycling, and I look forward to continuing work to across the aisle to address this growing issue. i'm also pleased we're considering a bipartisan reauthorization of the diesel emissions reduction act this long-standing program helps replace older dirty diesel engines across the nation cleaning up our air and cutting down on fuel costs unfortunately i will not be able to support the remaining bills out of the environment subcommittee in the wake of trump's reckless war of choice in iran americans are facing a fuel affordability crisis with diesel prices over five dollars a gallon and gas prices up thirty percent compared to last year. American families are struggling to afford groceries and school supplies due to high fuel costs having a devastating ripple effect throughout the economy. Yet today committee Republicans want to move two bills that would increase fuel use and health harming and smog and smog forming pollution and undermine state's abilities to improve air quality and protect public health. So the Buses Act, H R nine three one seven, needlessly attack state policies to allow school buses and motor coaches to idle for fifteen minutes or longer this would allow toxic diesel exhaust to poison children going to school and increase fueling costs in the process, putting a strain on school budgets. And then there's hr three one nine four the locomotives act which attacks state's ability to control pollution from older dirtier locomotives in use today, locking in this harmful pollution for years to come and leaving communities and workers to foot the bill with the help. So I'm gonna oppose both of these bills. And with that, Mister Chairman, I yield back uh the balance of my time.

Thank you. The gentleman yields back and the chair reminds members that pursuant to the committee rules, all members' opening statements will be made part of the record. And then further o further opening statements, the gentleman from Ohio is recognized for three minutes for an opening statement.

Well, thank you very much, Mister Chairman. And thank you for today's mark-up. Today's mark-up includes pieces of legislation improve the nuclear regulatory commission's licensing process and the department of energy's nuclear reporting these bills uh build on the committee's bipartisan work to boost momentum for us nuclear deployment while maintaining transparency and safety a robust and growing american nuclear industry is vital to meeting growing energy demand while prioritizing our economic energy and national security Last, Congress's committee's bipartisan efforts led to the Advance Act, which directed the NRC to align its mission for enabling the benefits of nuclear energy. With the Advance Act, Congress sought an NRC focusing on efficiency, reducing costs, and increasing predictability in the permitting process, all while maintaining its position as the world's premier leader in nuclear safety. The nuclear bills before us today, built upon the Advance Act. the nuclear refuel act which i'm leading with our colleague from california's fiftieth district clarifies certain recycling facilities may be licensed under the same regulatory framework as other fuel cycle facilities this will ensure an efficient licensing process for reprocessing and advancing our policy to maximize access to the additional energy and isotope spent in nuclear fuel for other bills before us we'll amend the atomic energy act to remove unnecessary barriers to the licensing technologies we will need for a strong, robust nuclear industry. The American Enrichment Deployment Act brings the licensing process for enrichment facilities in line with the regulatory framework of the other dual cycle facilities. The Efficient Nuclear Licensing Hearing Act makes a long overdue change to the licensing process by removing the uncontested mandatory hearing and uh an outdated requirement which adds time, cost, and burden without The Nuclear Advisory Committee Reform Act directs the advisory committee on the reactor safeguards to focus on issues that are new, novel, and safety, each sign significant. We expect a bipartisan amendment to ensure the committee can make more can the committee can more ably implement this new focus. The NRC Staff Pay Alignment Act builds on the workforce authorities from the advance act and will help the NRC maintain a talented qualified workforce. Lastly, the Department of Energy, Nuclear Transparency Act ensures transparency from the DOE, as it authorizes nuclear facilities in its nuclear program. I want to thank our colleagues from across Seattle for providing meaningful input in supporting this important work. I look forward to reporting these bipartisan bills favorably out of the committee. And I want to thank everybody for their support, and also to thank our great staff for their great work. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.

Thank you. The gentleman Yoes Becker, the further opening statements, the young lady from Florida, recognized for three minutes for an opening statement.

Thank you, Mister Chairman and colleagues, uh, good morning. I'm pleased today that we're marking up six, um, bill bipartisan bills from the energy subcommittee, uh, especially to advance American leadership in nuclear energy. The, uh, this continues the committee's, uh, work to carefully balance safety, transparency, and efficiency, and building off the investments that we've made in the past, through the bipartisan infrastructure law and the Advance Act. Thank you, Rep DeGette and former uh Rep Jeff Duncan for that. And while uh nuclear energy can help address rising electricity demand in the future, it really doesn't do much to help our neighbors back home right now with their immediate challenges, the soul-crushing high electric bills. And, Mister Chairman, that's why I have to voice at the beginning of this hearing the great frustration uh, that the House Republicans failed to bring the Right-Pair Protection Act to the floor this week. That could have been something tangible to help our neighbors back home. Remember, it passed unanimously out of this committee in June, uh, over a month ago, and it was reported last week that Speaker Johnson and Majority Leader Scalise may not bring the bill to the floor at all in September. Uh, remember the Right-Pair Protection Act will help ensure the data pay their full cost of their energy demand. Uh, it m- will make sure that hardworking families aren't left footing the bill. It would help states require data centers to cover the full cost of any grid upgrades. It would empower local communities to make decisions on siting. It would allow for robust community input. These are all policies that I thought we agreed on, Uh, but slow walking or or burying the bill tells a different story. So I urge you, uh, Mister Chairman, maybe you can address it at the end of my remarks. I I urge you and the Republicans to bring the Repair Protection Act to the floor as soon as possible. And Mister Chairman, to to lower electric bills, this committee also needs to be working on reforms on how we plan, permit and pay for transmission. that can unlock the electricity our country needs. We have bills like my expediting generator interconnection procedures act, which this committee should advance to fix fix our system and quickly bring all types of energy resources to the grid. And they're still low hanging fruit as well to improve grid utilization and deploy advanced solutions like virtual power plants to quickly get more energy out of the grid that we already have. Today's bills are an important step forward, But they're not enough. So let's commit to do more, to work in a bipartisan way, to build the twenty-first century power system and lower costs for our neighbors back home. That's what they're asking for. Thank you. Now you'll mind.

Thank you. The gentlelady goes back. Is there any further opening statements on the Republican side? See none. Any on the Democrat side? Gentleman from uh New York is recognized for three minutes for an opening statement.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and good morning. Today the uh committee will consider four bills that recently advanced by the environment subcommittee. Very happy to see the emerging bipartisan consensus, that being that the recycling of critical minerals already in commerce can be an important strategy to meet our growing critical mineral needs. With the right incentives and regulatory requirements, lithium ion batteries can be a rich source of domestic minerals, and we can ensure their proper collection, reuse, recycling, and when necessary, disposal while addressing safety, public health and environmental concerns. H R ninety six fifteen, the BRACE Act, is a good first step. The bill would allow facilities to store these batteries prior to recycling them in accordance with universal waste requirements, while directing EPA to issue a rule to support the safe management of lithium ion batteries as universal waste for the long term. I do understand this bill is not going to solve all of our issues. with critical mineral recycling or end of life handling of batteries. Ultimately, I believe that a national extended producer responsibility framework can play an important role in supporting the collection, the reuse and the recycling of these batteries. And I would be open to continuing to explore these types of next step policies as we head into the twen- twentieth Congress. Today we will also consider HR twenty-one forty, the bipartisan reauthorization of the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act. DIRA is an incredibly effective program that supports the replacement and retrofit of some of the worst polluting diesel engines currently in use. I am glad we can build upon the success of this program, and I look forward to supporting this bill. Unfortunately, I must oppose the other two bills addressing mobile source pollution. H R thirty-one ninety-four, the Locomotives Act, and H R thir ninety-three seventeen, the Buses Act would curtail state and local governments' ability to adopt common sense regulations to protect the public from dangerous air pollution. The Buses Act seeks to limit state and local governments from implementing anti-oddling bus laws while the Locomotives Act would prohibit states from regulating emissions from trains. State and local governments are on the front lines of protecting Americans from air pollution and I cannot support efforts to limit their ability to do so, especially given the Trump EPA's approach or lack thereof to developing and enforcing meaningful public health protections. Millions of Americans continue to suffer from the unsafe levels of air pollutions, and in the absence of a strong federal commitment to environmental protection, I believe Congress must do everything possible to encourage our state and local partners to develop what are sensible public health protections. With that, I thank you, Mr. Chair, and yield back.

Gentlemen yields back. Are there further opening statements on the

H R two one four zero. A bill to amend the Energy Policy Act of two thousand five to reauthorize the diesel emissions reduction program. Section.

Without objection, the first reading of the bill is dispensed with, and the bill will be open for amendment at any point. So, ordered, does anyone seek to be recognized on the bill?

Mr. Chairman.

Gentleman from General Lady from California is recognized for five minutes to speak on the bill.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and we will distract the last word in speaking in support of my bill, the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act of twenty twenty five. I want to thank Congressman Langworthy as well as Chairman Guthrie and Chairman Palmer, for working with my office to move this important legislation through committee. The Diesel Emissions Reduction Act, or DERA, has always been strongly bipartisan. The DERA program was created in two thousand five by eleven Democrats and eleven Republicans to help reduce pollution from diesel trucks and improve public health, in communities affected by diesel pollution. Since two thousand five, DERA has repeatedly been reauthorized on a bipartisan basis and has been consistently funded every year regardless of what party controls Congress. And there's a reason DERA has been so bipartisan, because it's voluntary, it's cost-effective, and it works. This bill would continue that successful track record by reauthorizing and extending the DERA program for another five years. Anyone who's worked or lived around old diesel engines knows how dirty those older trucks and buses can be. The JIRA program helps communities clear up their air by replacing the oldest and dirtiest vehicles in their fleets. States, local governments, tribes and school districts can use this money to replace old trucks, school buses, construction equipment and even even boat engines with newer, cleaner versions. The new vehicles can be electric or they can be low emission propane, or national gas vehicles, DERA gives states and communities flexibility to decide what technologies are best for reducing diesel pollution. In California, this program has replaced hundreds of polluting trucks, tractors, and school buses. That has a real impact on our communities. Diesel pollution causes lung disease, cancer, and heart disease, and it disproportionately impacts low-income communities and children, which is why it's so important to replace older diesel school buses. DEER is a proven common sense solution that has improved air quality and public health across California. This is important bipartisan legislation and look forward to seeing it signed into law. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.

General lady yields back. Is there further discussion on the bill? Seeing none. No further discussion on the bill?

Uh, Mr. Carter from Louisiana.

Noah. Oh, Mister Carter from Louisiana, you're recognized for five minutes to speak on the bill.

Thank you, Mister Chairman. I'm proud to support HR twenty one forty, the Decent Emissions Reduction Act of twenty twenty five. I represent Louisiana, where some communities are breathing some of the nation's most polluted air. Parts of our state already bears a disproportionate burden of industrial emissions. Aging trucks, cars and other inefficient engine engines pump additional pollution into the air our children breathe. Diesel engines can operate for thirty years or more, leaving millions of older, dirtier engines in use. My district is also home of some of the largest ports in America. While we're grateful for the vital commerce and jobs these facilities provide, the trains, trucks, ships, and industrial equipment that moves their cargo daily also increase air pollution for workers in nearby communities. That's why this bill, which authorizes the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act, or DERA grant program through twenty twenty nine is so important. This program has pru is proven common sense solution that improves air quality, protects public health, cuts fuel expenses, and supports American jobs. DERA has delivered real results for Southeast Louisiana, the Port of New Orleans and has used this grant funding to replace dozens of aging trucks with newer, cleaner trucks equipped with diesel particulate filters. It's not just a win for our ports. These awards also cut diesel pollution in the surrounding communities. Reauthorizing DERA through twenty twenty nine keeps this cost-effective, health protective funding stream alive for industry and communities across Louisiana, and across our country. I wanna thank Representative Matsui and Longworthy for their leadership on this issue, and I urge favorable passage, and I yield.

Gentleman yields back. Is there further discussion on the bill? Seeing no further discussion, the question now occurs on adopting HR two one four zero. A roll call has been requested and the clerk will call the roll.

Mister Lotta. Mister Lotta votes aye. mister griffith mister griffith votes aye mister billeroccus mister billeroccus votes aye mister hudson mister carter of georgia mister carter of georgia votes aye mister palmer mister dunn mister crinshaw mister joyce mister joyce votes aye mister weber mister allen mister allen votes aye mister balderson mister balderson votes aye mister folger mister folger votes aye mister flueger miss harshbarger miss harshbarger votes aye miss miller-meeks miss miller-meeks votes aye miss kammack mister obernalte mister james mister bentz mister bentz votes aye mrs. haljan mister fry mister fry votes aye misley mister langworthy mister kane mister kane votes aye okay mister rooney mister rooney votes aye mister evans mister evans votes aye mister goldman votes aye mrs. Fedorchek mrs. Fedorchek votes aye mister pilone mister pilone votes aye miss de gett miss de gett votes aye miss schakowsky

aye

miss schakowsky votes aye miss matsuey miss matsuey votes aye miss caster miss caster votes aye mr. tonko

aye

mr. tonko votes aye miss clark miss clark votes aye mr. ruiz mr. peters mr. peters votes aye mrs. dingle mrs. dingle votes aye mr. vesey miss kelly miss kelly votes aye miss baragon miss baragon votes aye mister soto mister soto votes aye miss schreier miss schreier votes aye miss trahan miss trahan votes aye miss fletcher miss fletcher votes aye miss ocasio-cortez mister aust austin class mister austin class votes aye mister carter of louisiana Mister Carter of Louisiana votes aye. Mister Menendez. Mister Mullen. Mister Mullen votes aye. Mister Lansman. Mister Lansman votes aye. Miss McClellan. Miss McClellan votes aye. Mister Guthrie. Mister Guthrie votes aye.

Is anyone seeking recognition? M- Mister Langworthy. Mister F- Mister Flueger.

Mister Lang

Oh wait, you got you got Langworthy?

No.

Okay. You got Langworthy? You got his vote in Flueger?

Miss

Mister Palmer.

Mister Flieger votes aye. Mister Palmer is not recorded.

Oh, what was that?

Mister Palmer votes aye.

Doctor Ruiz. Doctor Ruiz. You're yeah. Aye.

Doctor Ruiz votes aye.

Anyone either side? Seeing none, the clerk will report.

Can you not talk yet?

Uh the the vote before you report, how is the gentlelady from New York recorded?

Uh, Miss Ocasio-Cortez is not recorded.

Okay.

Miss Ocasio-Cortez votes aye.

The clerk will report?

Mister Chairman, on that vote there were forty-three ayes and zero nos.

The bill is adopt the ayes have it, the bill is adopted. The chair calls up HR three one nine four and asks the clerk to report.

H R three one nine four, a bill to amend the Clean Air Act to prohibit state standards relating to the control of emissions from existing

Without objection, the first reading of the bill is dispensed with, and the bill will be open for amendment at any point. So ordered. Does anyone seek recognition on the bill? You wanna say recognition on the bill?

One hundred and three.

This is thirty one ninety four.

Uh, yes, three one nine four. Say none.

I do. This is this is thirty one.

Uh, the gentleman from, gentleman from Georgia is recognized for five minutes.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Miss.

Just speak on the bill.

Mr. Chairman, the rail industry is already taking a proactive approach to lowering its emission standards independent of California mandates. The industry has invested heavily in modernizing its fleet of locomotives, and has the number of locomotives in service that meet EPA's strictest environmental standards. Rail is one of the cleanest transportation technologies. U S freight railroads can move one ton of freight, more than four hundred and seventy miles per gallon of fuel, making rail the most environmentally friendly way to move freight over land. Despite the large volume of freight move, freight railroads only account for about point six percent of total U S greenhouse gas emissions. and just two percent of emissions from transportation related sources. Unreasonably strict regulations like those proposed by California would not incentivize modernization but would put companies out of business. Heightening financial compliance costs across diff- across different states would place these smaller businesses at substantial risk and significantly increase the price of transporting goods cost that would be passed down to the American consumer. The EPA has already implemented federal exhaust emission standards. for locomotives with a tiered system of regulations based on the year the locomotive was built. The proposed California requirement advocates for locomotives older than twenty-three years to be re- retired and replaced by the year twenty-thirty, with zero emission locomotives. This would mean roughly two-thirds of all class one locomotives must be retired and replaced with zero emission locomotives. Zero emission locomotives are still in rollout phases and have not reached established practice among the industry. Mister Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill and I yield the balance of my time.

The gentleman yields. Is there further discussion on the bill? Seeing seeing none, no further discussion.

I support it.

Oh, j- the gentleman from Texas is recognized for five minutes to speak on the bill.

Thank you, Mister Chairman. One state's regulator shouldn't set the rules for the entire national freight rail network. That's the problem with the N Locomotives Act. fixes. In twenty twenty three, the California Air Resources Board proposed a rule banning any locomotive twenty three years or older from operating in a state, unless it ran zero emissions. The regulation would have blocked two thirds of the national locomotive fleet from reaching two of the nation's largest ports, forcing trains to stop at the California border and wait for the compliant power to finish the job. That's extra costs and delays passed on in American consumers. Short line railroads would have been hit hardest. They run on used locomotive passed down from the class ones, because that's what they can afford. A typical short line with eight locomotives would have faced over two million dollars a year in compliance costs, against roughly eight million in revenue. New l- new locomotives run three to four million dollars apiece. The Car Zone assessment admitted that some of their these businesses would have been eliminated. And when short lines disappear, the freight moves to trucks. Rail moves forty percent of long-distance freight on under two percent of the transportation emissions. California alone could have seen over a million additional truck trips on its highways. Worse for safety, worse for congestion, worse for the environment, Carb claims to be protecting. The Locomotives Act simply confirms what should already be obvious, Interstate Rail is a national responsibility. not a California bureaucrat's job to regulate by waiver. I'm proud to lead this legislation, alongside Representative Molinar and Representative Obernolte, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and yield back. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Gentleman yields back. Is there further discussion on the bill? Gentleman from uh Colorado is recognized for five minutes to speak on the bill.

Thank you, Chairman, and I'm proud to speak in support of the Locomotives Act today being led by my colleagues, I represent the heart of Colorado's rail economy with hundreds of miles of track running through my district and thousands of jobs relying on the industry. This bill helps to protect those jobs by closing a clean air act loophole that allows radical states like California and Colorado, to require trains that pass through their states to abide by stricter environmental standards than those set by the federal government. Like their counterparts in Sacramento, uh, Denver Democrats long used the clean air act as cover to regulate industries they don't like this is part of the reason we have a forty percent commercial vacancy rate in downtown denver from targeting america's vital oil and gas industry to restricting the use of lawn equipment to mandating the sale of more expensive gasoline these antics drive up the cost of living for my constituents and hurt jobs if california's twenty twenty three waiver request had been approved it would have effectively shut off two of the largest ports in america from being serviced by sixty percent of our nation's rail fleet, inflating the price of basic goods and hurting the wallets of working Colorado and American families. Thankfully, this waiver never went into effect, but it's more important than ever to ensure that this loophole cannot be exploited in the future. This is why this committee's work in modernizing the Clean Air Act is so important. The Locomotives Act and other bills before us today are simply common sense. All they do is ensure that federal environmental law cannot be weaponized to advance nonsensical policies that kill jobs and raise the cost of living. And I'll reiterate a point that I've made frequently when we talk about this issue. I'm a father who has a kid who struggles with asthma. No one wants cleaner air than I do. I want a healthy environment for all Coloradans and for all Americans, and that's why we have to follow the science in this issue. As my colleague just talked about, if we don't. it's going to be transported in ways that have a higher carbon and emission footprint. Also, if we regulate our economy to death, we will raise the cost of living and kill jobs, and poverty also leads to worse health outcomes for Americans. This bill continues building on the intent and broader goal of many of the other Clean Air Act, uh, reforms which have passed the House earlier this year to include my bipartisan Fire Act. It protects jobs. And so I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, supporting the environment, and I yield back my time.

There further discussion on the underlying bill, I know we have some amendments, but the gentlelady from Colorado's recognizing five ministers on the bill.

Thank you, Mister Chairman, well, you know, I hadn't planned to speak on this bill, but I do represent Denver, Colorado, and I resent the remarks made from my colleague to the north, because for one thing, they're not rooted in fact. And if if you wanna represent a district, represent your district and that's fine. But attacking quote " Denver Democrats" because of the vacancy in office buildings in downtown Denver and somehow tying that to the enforcement of the Clean Air Act is just beyond belief. I guess it really is campaign season right now, but for heaven's sakes, I just want to correct the record. Before the passage of the nineteen seventy clean air act denver suffered from severe air pollution exceeding federal air quality standards for roughly exceeding federal air quality standards for roughly two hundred days per year i grew up in denver colorado and i remember all winter long you could never see the mountains after the clean air act after we cleaned up the air you could see the mountains every day you the kids the the um the percentage of asthma in children dropped dramatically as my colleague from the north would be interested to know since he apparently has a child with asthma and everybody's health improved so so actually clean air clean environment not only improves people's health But it also improves the economy because families can live there and know that they're gonna be healthy. And that's why the Clean Air Act has been one of the most successful environmental uh uh laws that we've had in this country and that's why we need to continue robust enforcement. I yield back.

And he yields back. Is there further discussion? You have amendments or you wanted to discuss the bill, underlying bill? gentlelady from California is recognized for five minutes.

Oh, I just want to chime in on this conversation as well because my my colleague, um, my Republican colleague from Colorado is all of a sudden concerned about the high cost for American families when my colleague has done nothing but vote for policies that have raised cost for American families including those in Colorado. Um, what's really costing i- is uh these policies for a war that's costing seventy-three billion dollars, which is making prices go up. It's the cost of groceries and housing and everything else which my colleague has done nothing about. So to hear him talk about the costs on families and their concern, i- is kind of falling on deaf ears. The other thing is that these local motives that are old and inefficient, they are relying on diesel. Well, guess what's going up? Diesel, the cost of diesel. The reliance on diesel has become a lot more expensive. Why? Due to Trump's war on Iran, something my colleague in Colorado won't speak up against and won't say, hey, this is costing more dollars, instead just putting a stamp on anything this administration does, which is making costs go up for American families. With that I go back.

Gentlelady yields back. Seeing no further discussion, are there amendments? Gentleman from Texas is recognized. For what purpose is the gentleman from Texas need recognition?

Um, uh, Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

The clerk will report the amendment.

Amendment to HR three one nine four, offered by Mister Clerk.

Without objection, the reading of the amendment is suspensed with, and the gentleman from Texas is recognized for five minutes in support of the amendment.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is a conforming amendment that updates the Locomotives Act to reflect the new sub-paragraph added in our introduced bill. This change ensures the bill functions as intended and that the bill is aligned with the provisions it amends in the Clean Air Act. And I yield back.

Jim then yields back. Is there further discussion? This is a conforming amendment. So, seeing no discussion on the amendment. All those in favor shall signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Aye. All opposed, nay. The ayes have it and the amendment is agreed to. Are there further amendments? Any further amendments? You have amendment. Oh, is it Junelady from California? What part would you take recognition?

Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk, HR three one nine four underscore zero three.

The clerk will report.

Amendment two, HR three one nine four.

Without objection, the amendment, the reading of the amendment is dispensed with and the Junelady from California is recognized.

Uh, thank you, Mister Chair. Um, my amendment ensures that states can shield their communities from the serious public health costs of locomotive emissions. Locomotives are a major source of harmful emissions that pose a serious public health risk. This is especially true for the rail yard workers and communities living near rail yards, which are predominantly low income communities and communities of color. I represent a district that stands to be the most affected. It's the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach use diesel freight rail to transport goods to and from the ports. Diesel emissions affect rail workers and nearby communities. California workers in rail yards have reported health issues they see from these emissions at work and at home, with reports of headaches and shortness of breath on the job, and high rates of asthma among their kids and their grandkids. A Southern California pediatrician has highlighted the direct connection between rail admissions and public health. He said, and I'm quoting, " Clean up rail yard pollution will help keep these kids in their classrooms and playing with their friends, not in my exam rooms." End quote. This is a problem in communities near rail yards across the country. In Kansas, families living near major rail operations have raised the same concerns. One Kansas City child care provider said, and I quote, " We saw a lot of asthma and respiratory problems in the children we take care of." End quote. When we ignore the serious costs of locomotive emissions, it is our communities that bear the consequences. Doctor visits, hospital trips, treatment for asthma and respiratory illnesses. These costs add up and families are the ones paying the price. The polluted air they are forced to breathe harms their health and eats away at their finances. We should not stand by and watch our communities suffer. We should give states the tools that they need to protect their communities not tie their hands. So I call on my colleagues to support this amendment, which prevents the Local Motives Act from blocking a state pollution standard for local motives, if the EPA administrator finds that this standard will prevent premature deaths, and save on health care cost. With that, I yield back.

Gentlelady yields back. Is there further discussion on the amendment? Gentleman from Pennsylvania is recognized for five minutes to speak on the amendment.

I seek to be recognized to speak in opposition to this amendment. This is a measured and reasonable bill that allows for up to fifteen minutes of idling that is necessary to perform required safety checks and to make sure that the passengers are loaded safely and have access to air conditioning and other features. Buses are already an efficient and an affordable form of transportation. The real threat to cost and affordability are the risks of substantial enforcement fines and litigation by bounty hunters. This legislation will reduce burden and cost for many small companies and for those who already rely on this form of affordable, safe and reliable transportation. We should be encouraging more buses not making it more difficult for them to operate. I urge a no vote on this amendment and I yield back.

Gentleman yields back. The gentleman from New Jersey is recognized for five minutes to speak on the amendment.

Thank you, Mister Chairman, I want to speak in support of the gentlewoman from California's amendment. The transportation sector is a leading source of health harming air pollution and America's diesel-powered locomotives remain a major and often overlooked contributor. Locomotives emit nitrogen oxides and diesel particulate matter, leading to devastating health consequences for those living and working in communities near rail yards, ports, and transit centers. And I know the gentlewoman is from California, but I will tell you that the same is true, uh the same concerns for our ports uh in New Jersey. It's estimated that the rail industry is responsible for up to thirty-one hundred premature deaths annually with total health related costs of up to forty eight billion dollars. Yet H R three nine one four attacks state's ability to adopt or enforce emission standards for in-use locomotives, allowing older and dirtier locomotive engines to continue to pollute and poison communities for decades. This is a common sense amendment. It seeks to protect standards for in-use locomotives. That will result in avoided premature deaths and savings on health care costs. Policies that help prevent dire health consequences and save Americans money in the process. are the ones we should be able to support. We should be fighting to raise the standard of living for those living and working near major transit centers, not lowering it. So I urge my colleagues to support this common sense amendment, and I yield back, Mister Chairman.

Gentleman yields back. Is there further discussion of the amendment? Seeing none, if there's no further discussion, the vote occurs on the amendment.

I think there's one.

We have one.

Oh, you Oh, Mister Tucker. Okay, gentleman from New York to recognize for five minutes.

Thank you, Mister Chairman.

You speak on the amendment.

I move to strike the last word.

Gentlemen, let's recognize and speak on the amendment.

Thank you. Um, I expressed my support for the Bar-Ganon amendment, which would exclude emission standards that would result in avoided premature deaths and savings on health care costs from the bill's preemption of state authorities. Locomotives are a significant source of harmful air pollution, including particulate matter and nitrogen oxide. And while EPA has issued several standards, known as tiers, for nearly manufactured n- uh, for newly manufactured engines, Old locomotives remain in use today, and they are greatly contributing to many areas' pollution problems. As of twenty twenty, in California, more than one half of locomotives in service were tier one or earlier. And the standard for these locomotives allow nearly ten times as much pollution compared to new tier four equipment. These locomotives can and likely will continue to be used for decades to come, and it becomes a real challenge for state governments to work around these sources of emissions. to achieve their pollution reduction goals and better protect public health. Exposure to locomotive emissions can lead to cancer and increases in asthma, cardiopulmonary illness, hospitalizations, and premature deaths. And these emissions are most likely to occur in neighborhoods that a- already experience disproportionately high levels of air pollution near rail yards and ports with significant rail activity. If any state were to be serious about pursuing a standard, for in-use locomotives, I'm certain it would not be done lightly, and it would not be done to punitively impose costs on rail carriers. It would be seen as an important part of reducing pollution and protecting the public. Given that our federal emissions regulator, the EPA, is asleep at the wheel when it comes to protecting public health from dangerous air pollution, we should not prevent states from stepping up to fill this gap. So I urge members to support this men amendment and, Mister Chair, I yield back.

Gentleman yields back and the gentleman from Alabama is recognized for five minutes to speak on the amendment.

Thank you, Mister Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment. Um, H R thirty one ninety four does not alter the ability of states like California to regulate internal emission sources. States would still be able to seek EPA waivers for internal emission sources, like intercity rail, automobiles and heavy machinery. Instead, It protects other states dependent on the national rail system from overreaching mandates from states like California by ensuring that federal preemption over interstate commerce is protected. Such overreaches have been credibly forecasted to dramatically dramatically raise cost for shippers and consumers by burdening states with mandates their constituencies did not vote for. Regulations like those proposed by California are infeasible and unrealistic. in ways that would have harmful, cascading consequences on states across the country. H. R. thirty-one ninety-four continues to push states toward long-term air quality goals through federal regulation of interstate commerce by closing a loophole that undermines those goals. Railways cover forty percent of long-distance freight with less than two percent of the emissions. Restricting lo welcome orders welcome motives through patchwork regulations not only increases consumer costs and and threatens our supply chain, but also would increase air emissions. California should not be allowed to set national policy restricting interstate commerce. This legislation prevents states like California from implementing heightened standards and compliance costs at the detriment of all states. I urge a no vote on this amendment, and I yield back.

The gentleman yields back. Is there further discussion on the amendment? Seeing none

I'll take a roll.

You wanna call, okay. The question now recurs on the amendment. A roll call has been requested and the clerk will call the roll.

Mister Lotta.

No.

Mister Lotta votes no. Mister Griffith.

No.

Mister Griffith votes no. Mister Bilirakis.

No.

Mister Bilirakis votes no. Mister Hudson. Mister Carter of Georgia.

No.

Mister Carter of Georgia votes no. Mister Palmer.

No.

mister palmer votes no mister dunn mister crinshaw mister joyce mr. a. mister joyce votes no mister weber mmm

that's nice

yeah it was nice mister weber votes no mister allen mister allen votes no mister balderson it's fine it's fine setting mister balderson votes no mister folcher mister folcher votes no mister flueger mister flueger votes no mrs. yeah i mean it harschbarger it's just i mean it was just it was fun mrs. harschbarger votes no mrs. miller

there was

mrs. miller-meeks votes no mrs. kamik mrs. kamik votes no mr. obernotte mr. james mr. bentz mr. bentz votes no mrs. halchen mrs. halchen votes no mr. fry miss lee miss lee votes no mr. langworthy

no

mr. langworthy votes no mr. kain

no

mr. kane votes no mr. rooney no mr. rooney votes no mr. evans no mr. evans votes no mr. goldman no mr. goldman votes no mrs. Fedorchek no mrs. Fedorchek votes no mr. polone no no mr. polone votes aye miss degette aye miss degette votes aye miss tchaikowsky aye miss tchaikowsky votes aye miss mat suey aye miss mat suey votes aye miss caster aye miss caster votes aye mr. tonko

aye so

mister tonko votes aye miss clark miss clark votes aye mr. ruiz mister ruiz votes aye mister peters mister peters votes aye mrs. dingle mrs. dingle votes aye mister vesey miss kelly miss kelly votes aye miss bergen miss bergen votes aye mr. soto mr. soto votes aye miss schreier miss schreier votes aye miss trahan miss trahan votes aye miss fletcher miss acasio-cortez miss acasio-cortez votes aye mr. aukencloss mr. aukencloss votes aye mr. carter of louisiana mr. carter of louisiana votes aye mr. menendez mr. mullen mr. mullin votes aye mr. landsman mr. landsman votes aye miss miss mcclellan miss mcclellan votes aye mr. guthrie mr. guthrie votes no

uh

miss mr. hudson votes no mr. fry votes no

i

miss fletcher votes aye

So you know others uh for requesting requesting to vote, the clerk will report the result.

Mister Chairman, on that vote there were twenty-two ayes.

The amendment is not agreed to. Are there further amendments? Are there further amendments? No. If there're no further amendments, the question now occurs on adopting HR three one nine four. A roll call has been requested and the clerk will call the roll.

Mister Lotta.

Aye.

Mister Lotta votes aye. Mister Griffith.

May I make a correction? We did have a conforming amendment passed, so I will call it the the question now occurs on adopting HR three one nine four as amended. A roll call has been requested and the clerk will call the roll.

Mister Lotta. Mister Lotta votes aye. Mister Griffith. Mister Griffith votes aye. Mister Bilirakis. Miss, Mister Bilirakis votes aye. Mister Hudson. Mister Carter of Georgia. mister carter of georgia votes aye mister palmer mister palmer votes aye mister dunn mister crinshaw mister joyce mister joyce votes aye mister weber mister weber votes aye mister allen

mr.

mister allen votes aye mister balderson mister balderson votes aye mister folger mister folger votes aye mister flueger mister flueger votes aye mrs. harsparger mrs. harsparger votes aye mrs. miller-meeks mrs. kamik mrs. kamik votes aye mr. obernolte mister james mister bentz mister bentz votes aye mrs. houchin mrs. houchin votes aye mr. frey mr. frey votes aye miss lee miss lee votes aye mr. Langworthy mr. Langworthy votes aye mr. Kane mr. Kane votes aye mr. Rooley mr. Rooley votes aye mr. Evans mr. Evans votes aye mr. Goldman mr. Goldman votes aye mrs. Fedorchuk mrs. Fedorchuk votes aye mr. Pilon mr. Pilon votes no miss to get miss to get votes no miss Tchaikovsky miss tchaikovsky votes no miss mat suey miss mat suey votes no miss caster miss caster votes no mister tonko

no

mister tonko votes no miss clark

yes

miss clark votes no mister ruiz mister ruiz votes no mister peters mister peters votes no mrs. dingle mrs. dingle votes no mister vesey miss kelly miss kelly votes no miss berrigan miss bergon votes no mr. soto mr. soto votes no miss schreier miss schreier votes no miss trahan miss trahan votes no miss fletcher

no

miss fletcher votes no miss acasio-cortez miss acasio-cortez votes no mr. aukencloss mr. aukencloss votes no mr. carter of louisiana mr. carter of louisiana votes no mr. menendez mister mullin mister mullin votes no mister landsman mister landsman votes no miss mcclellan miss mcclellan votes no mister guthrie

aye

mister guthrie votes aye

Mr. Mullin is that it

mmm

mister hudson votes aye miss miller mrs. miller-meeks votes aye mister vizier is not recorded Mister Vizi votes now.

Seeing no others here to seek to enter the roll call, the clerk will report.

Dingell, sorry.

Uh, she voted.

I think Miss Dingell. She did. Yeah, she did.

How's Miss Dingell record? I think she voted.

Mrs. Dingell is recorded as a no.

Yeah. Clerk will report.

Mister Chairman, on that vote there were twenty-six ayes and twenty-three noes.

The ayes have it and the bill is adopted. The chair calls up H R nine three one seven and asks the clerk to report.

H R nine three one seven, a bill to prohibit engine engine idling restrictions for over the road buses

Without objection, the first reading of the bill is dispensed with, and the bill will be open for amendment at any point. So, order. Does anyone seek to be recognized on the bill? Gentlemen from New York, what purpose do you seek recognition? You're recognized for five minutes to speak on the bill.

Um,

Hey.

my bill, HR ninety three seventeen, the Buses Utilizing Safety and Environmental Standards Act, or the Buses Act, comes down to one simple principle passenger safety should come before an arbitrary stopwatch look at what's happening in new york city the general idling limit is three minutes next to a school it drops to one minute now think about that three minutes is to safely prepare a bus carrying dozens of passengers one minute outside of a school anyone who has watched a school bus load children knows how unrealistic uh those numbers can be kids aren't cargo drivers may be helping younger children waiting for a student to safely cross or assisting a child with disabilities. And passenger safety starts before anyone even boards. Drivers must conduct pre-trip safety checks and spec critical systems and make sure that the vehicle is safe before putting passengers on the road. Three minutes goes by pretty quickly when you're responsible for an entire busload of people. And nowhere is that more obvious than for passengers with disabilities. For someone using a wheelchair, boarding a bus isn't as simple as walking through the door. A driver may need to deploy a wheelchair lift, assist the passenger into the vehicle, properly secure the wheelchair, check the restraints, and make absolutely certain that that person is safe before the bus starts to move. That can take more than three minutes alone, and it certainly can take more than one minute, and that's okay. What are we telling that driver to do when the clock is running? Rush the lift? Rush the passenger? Cut corners securing the wheelchair? Tell a child with a disability that they need to hurry up? Absolutely not. No passenger with a disability should ever feel that they're holding up a bus because a government regulation says that the driver is taking too long and no driver should feel the pressure to rush that passenger because they're worried about an idling ticket. But New York City takes this even further. They allow private citizens to report idling violations and then receive a financial award. So while a driver is conducting safety checks or helping a passenger using a wheelchair, safely, someone could be standing on the sidewalk with a phone a phone pointed at that bus, filming it, watching the clock and hoping to make money off a potential violation. Some participants have reportedly made hundreds of thousands of dollars in this new cottage industry. Think about how backward that is. We're creating a financial incentive to hunt for idling violations while drivers may be doing exactly what we expect and need them to do, protect their passengers. The Buses Act restores common sense. by establishing a reasonable fifteen minute national standard so that operators have time to conduct their safety checks, safely board their passengers, operate accessible equipment, and make sure that everyone is secure. This isn't about unnecessary idling. It's about passenger safety. And when the choice is between beating an arbitrary clock and taking another minute to keep passengers safe, I want the driver choosing safety every single time. And that's what the Buses Act protects. i urge my colleagues to support the bill and i yield back

gentleman yields back gentleman from new jersey is recognized for five minutes to speak on the bill

uh thank you mister chairman i'll speak in opposition to the bill as america's children return to class this september many start the day on a school bus twenty five million to be exact and the vast majority of those buses are diesel powered subjecting children drivers in surrounding communities to health-harming pollution like fine particulate matter and nitrogen oxides. Children are particularly susceptible to the health impacts of diesel exhaust, and early exposure can lead to long-term health challenges, interfere with lung growth, and impact children's cognitive development. In HR nine three one seven, the Buses Act would allow school buses to unnecessarily idle for fifteen minutes or more. Most state and local idling restrictions are limited to roughly three to five minutes. even less around schools, and already include a range of exemptions for things like safety and extreme temperatures. But the buses act would triple some state idling restrictions, marking an extreme departure from these common sense protections. While September marks back to school season for children across the country, it also marks the six month anniversary of Trump's disastrous war in Iran, that is causing fuel costs to spike across the country. Americans have already spent ninety-five billion dollars more on gasoline, and diesel fuel since the start of trump's war in iran at the end of the last school year schools were reporting strained budgets thanks to high diesel costs wasting expensive fuel through excessive engine idling like what the buses act promotes would exacerbate the current fuel affordability crisis the buses act is not a safety solution it sets a weak national standard for engine idling without any guardrails and would leave communities to foot the bill with their health and their wallets Furthermore, the Buses Act infringes on state's ability to address the unique air quality and transportation needs of their communities and drives up health-harming pollution. So I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill and I yield back, Mister Chairman.

Gentleman yields back. Is there further discussion on the bill? Is there further discussion on the bill? Seeing none, are there any amendments? Gentleman from uh California is recognized. Uh, what purpose does a gentleman from California seek recognition?

Mister Chairman, I have an amendment to ask.

The clerk will report. You identify the amendment? Do you have the amendment? The clerk will report.

Amendment two H R nine three one seven, offered by Mister Peters. Page two, line nine, strike minutes, and insert minutes.

Without objection, the reading the amendment is dispensed with, make sure it's a, it's a correct amendment, right? It's correct. It's dispensed with and the gentleman is recognized for five minutes in support of the amendment.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, at the uh subcommittee hearing I heard Mister Langworthy's um discussion of the practical problems um posed by the um three minute to five minute idling uh requirement and uh indicated that excuse me, indicated at that time that um while I was sympathetic to it, the bill was drawn really broadly, did not limit itself to any such exemptions. And I said at that time, excuse me, If you narrowed the exemption, I would have to be um I would be tempted to vote for this because I I think the uh the issues around disability and about um inspections were were um reasonable, and persuasive. And usually nothing ever happens when that when I do that, but actually um to the credit of the majority, they've agreed to all the changes that I've requested. Uh and so my amendment would narrowly tailor the scope of the bill to ensure that localities give operators one fifteen minute period of idling exclusively for pre-trip inspections, the loading of passengers with disabilities, and the temperature control concurrent with a pre-trip inspection. If an operator is idling for other reasons outside of those three, they can and should be s- still held um to violation of local rules, uh could be held accountable. Uh the amendment would preserve state and local uh enforcement programs and make it clear that if an operator is idling for purposes outside of pre-trip inspections the loading of passengers with disabilities, or temperature control concurrent with pre-trip inspections, that is still a violation. So instead of directing states or localities to terminate their program, the amendment would give them flexibility to amend their program to comply with this bill. Um, I think this is how it's supposed to work. I credit um the the Chairman um uh Guthrie and and uh Mister Gottheimer, Mister Langworthy uh for working with me to to make this amendment. And to my colleagues on this side of the aisle, I would say this, the Republicans are gonna pass this bill, Um, my amendment narrows it. Uh, it makes it much more acceptable to us. And even if you disagree with the, um, the final bill for some of the reasons that Mister Pallone states, um, I think that, uh, I would appreciate your help in narrowing the scope of it. Uh, and I, if this, um, if this amendment does pass, will be willing to support the bill. And with that, I yield back.

Gentleman yields back. Is there further discussion on the amendment? The gentleman from New Jersey is recognized for five minutes to speak on the amendment.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I'm actually speaking in opposition to the amendment. And let me say I appreciate that um a gentleman from California is attempting to narrow the engine idling restrictions for certain purposes. But the reality is that most state engine idling restrictions already include a range of exceptions, for things like safety, extreme temperatures and inspections. In fact, the very program that this bill targets in New York City, already includes an idling exception for loading and unloading. passengers. So the reality is there are other techniques that can be deployed, like engine idle reduction technologies that help minimize the time an engine operates, save on fuel, and help with cabin comfort as well as equipment operation. But I so I think we should be encouraging the adoption of these technologies, as opposed to setting a weak federal floor for engine idling restrictions in state implementation plans. The amendment really does nothing to address the serious problems with the Buses Act. It continues to unnecessarily subject children to toxic air pollution and waste expensive diesel fuel. So I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment and I yield back.

Gentleman yields back and the gentleman from New York is recognized for five minutes to speak on the amendment.

I uh I wanna thank uh Mister Peters and his staff for their work on a bipartisan compromise. I'd also like to thank Mister Gottheimer and his staff for working with my office on this important legislation. I'm glad we could reach an agreement. on this common sense reform that allows buses to perform uh necessary trip safety checks and assist passengers. And I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this amendment.

Chairman yields back for the discussion of the amendment. General Lady from Virginia is recognized for five minutes to speak on the amendment.

Um, thank you, Mr. Chair. Speaking against the amendment, this amendment and the underlying bill ignores a very practical solution to the issue that the gentleman from New York raised. If you have a bus driver that needs to assist uh a student with a disability or if they need to do an inspection. And that's turn the bus off. Um because it's a fact that leaving a diesel bus idling for fifteen or twenty minutes is significantly worse for engine health, fuel su- fuel consumption, uh and emissions, than if you just turn the bus off and restart it when you are finished, fifteen or twenty minutes later. Um, a heavy-duty diesel bus burns, um, about point five to a gallon of fuel for every hour it sits idling. And when you restart a diesel engine, it uses only a fraction of the fuel, about the same amount of fuel that you would use if you left the bus idling for ten seconds. And so, keeping the bus idling extends wear and tear on the combustion engine because there's incomplete combustion. When you turn the engine off, do what you need to do for fifteen to twenty minutes, and then turn the bus back on, that is a much more efficient solution from a fuel consumption, from an engine wear and tear, and from an emissions uh standard. And I just, I think this bill is ignoring a very practical solution to the problem the problem of shandry-sol.

Yell back. Okay, thanks. General Lady yells back. Uh, any further discussion on the amendment? On the amendment? Seeing none, all in favor shall signify by saying aye. Aye.

Aye.

All those opposed nay. The ayes have it and the amendment is agreed to. Are there further amendments? General Lady from New York, you're recognized for what per person generally from New York do you recognition?

I have an amendment at the desk.

Identify the amendment.

Uh, FCAMD HR nine three one seven zero six.

Clerk will report.

Amendment two HR nine three one seven, offered by

Not objection to reading the amendment at suspense width, and the young lady from New York is recognized for five minutes in support of the amendment.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, you know, I find it fascinating sometimes when there's a lot of discourse here about one size fits all policies and about how folks in urban areas shouldn't dictate how people in more rural areas live, which makes complete sense. But I don't unders- what I don't understand is why the opposite doesn't apply here. Uh, the the congressman is not from New York City. So I'm I represent asthma alley, the South Bronx. Kids whose lungs have been choked with smog for decades. And my own nephews, my own family can't get through a day of school without a nebulizer. A fifteen minute idling restriction is extraordinarily high in concentrated city streets. And What might be okay in a different area is very much not okay when it comes to kindergartners trying to get on their way to school. High CO two outputs have statistically shown to reduce cognitive performance by fifteen to fifty percent. And in fact, when we look at kids' standardized test performance, we're looking at a ten to fifteen percent difference with kids who are trying to learn in areas with polluted air. These idling provisions make a massive difference. And one of the most important things that I do in my work is to fight for kids in the South Bronx. One in five kids in the South Bronx in these neighborhoods have asthma. And l- I wanna be very clear that the provisions in this bill target New York City and my community specifically and uniquely. No other municipality in the United States has a reporting program like New York City's. And this provision is targeting our municipality's ability to protect our children. These common sense provisions, all of these things they are talking about, about how people will be penalized for helping a kid in a wheelchair, is a fairy tale. That does not happen. There are already common sense exemptions in the law for safety, for conditions. We're not letting people freeze in the dead of winter, and we're not reporting people who are trying to safely load someone with a disability. But what we are trying to do is prevent kids from developing further disabilities, like asthma, further disabilities and diseases, because this is one of the most underserved areas in the United States. and I will not sit here and allow them to be trampled on and ignored and talked about in this way. Municipalities and communities have and should have the ability to regulate according to the realities of their local backyard. New York City is doing that and has the right to do that, just like any other community in the United States. And so my amendment that I am proposing today is that that this act shall not take effect until the administrator of the EPA certifies that its implementation will not increase children's exposure to air pollution. Because I will not sit here and allow my kids to get choked with smog because people do not understand the realities of what this does to their brains. And with that, I yield back.

Gentlelady goes back. Is there discussion? The gentleman from New York is recognized for five minutes to speak on the amendment.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. This amendment is another attempt to prevent the Buses Act from taking effect. It would require the EPA administrator to certify that this legislation will not result in any increase in children's exposure from air pollution before the bill can be implemented and of course we should care about children's health, but let's also remember who's actually riding these buses, children. Every morning millions of parents put their children on a school bus and trust that the driver is going to get them to school safely. And safely operating that bus takes time. Drivers need to complete all of the checks and make sure that vehicle's ready for the road. They need to safely load those children and a lot of children need extra assistance. Uh, i- i- as I spoke of earlier, children with wheelchairs and lifts, they need extra time. That takes time. New York City has an idling limit next to a school that is one minute. one minute do we really want a school bus driver looking at a stopwatch while trying to help a disabled child on on to the bus do we wanna rush that wheelchair lift or cut short that safety check because they're worried about someone filming their bus to cash in and and and create income for themselves on the backs of the bus driver of course not and the buses act does not require buses to idle for fifteen minutes and it doesn't encourage unnecessary idling it simply provides a reasonable window when operators need the time to do their safety checks and if they're ready to leave sooner they leave sooner but if a bus needs a few more minutes to safely board a child to complete its necessary safety procedures or secure a wheelchair that child's safety should come before an arbitrary one minute timeline that's been put in place this amendment would put the entire law on hold until the epa makes an extraordinarily broad certification while doing nothing to address the very real safety chal- challenges that our drivers face today. And if we're serious about protecting children, let's protect them when they're passengers too. No child should ever be rushed onto a school bus because an arbitrary clock is running, or someone is trying to create a for-profit mission to get penalties assessed to a driver. And I urge my colleagues to reject this amendment, and I yield back.

Gentleman yields back. Is there further discussion of the amendment? Gentlelady from New York is recognized for five minutes

Uh thank you, Mr. Chairman. Let me just say that first of all it's very clear to me that the gentleman has no idea of how um students with disabilities are administered in the city of New York. The the bus driver is not the only person attending to these students. They typically have attendants so that there is a safety precautions in place with personnel able to move the students in a timely manner. With that, I'm gonna yield to uh the General Lady from New York, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez.

Thank you. Uh, I thank the General Lady. Once again, you know, my the the Congressman is not from New York City and is characterizing a program that he is not familiar with. We are attempting to communicate that you are mistaken in your characterization of the program. the the uh there are exceptions to load children for safety inspections for these types of operations to load kids onto school buses. So these scenarios that you are describing are incorrect, not factual, do not exist, and are not supported by any evidence. What I find strange about this conversation is that when presented with that, there is a continuation to perpetuate something that is not true. Read the statute. There there are exceptions for kids. All of these things that you did that you are alleging happen do not comport with city policy. And so a public mischaracterization of this law that does not comport with reality is being used to justify passage of a law that is going to make kids sick. For what reason? I simply do not understand why we are not telling the truth about this and why we are trying to advance and target a provision for a district from which the congressman respectfully does not represent and it will hurt children. I the thing about this is that when you represent an area like the South Bronx, you have to fight and scrap for every tiny thing so that every child can get a one percent chance, a five percent chance at improving at any small outcome that they have. This idling provision makes a difference. We're talking about the difference of ten to fifteen percent points on a standardized test score. That's the difference between a kid getting a sixty on a state test and a kid getting an eighty-five. The number of pollution and smog that they are being choked with that surrounds that school. So what I am requesting is for us to preserve our freedom to protect our children. If you want to do this to your kids, that's your business. But I will not allow this to be done to mine. And with that, I yield back.

General Lady from New York, I'm sorry for the time,

I yield back.

General's back, I guess you're both from New York, so uh yeah. General uh so General Lady from New York has yielded has yielded back. Is there further discussion on the amendment? General Lady from no no, the Republicans, the General Lady from Virginia is recognized for five minutes.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Diesel exhaust has been designated as a carcinogenic to humans. by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. It contains significant levels of particulate matter that can lodge deep into the lungs and heart. They're linked to premature death, aggravated asthma, and decreased lung lung function. And children are particularly susceptible because their respiratory systems are still developing and they breathe faster. And this bill ignores and takes away a tool from states and localities to deal with the pollution that they have to better protect children, including the ones that are riding the bus. And most schools are in residential neighborhoods. So you're also protecting the children and the people who live around the school. While we legislate in silos, these communities don't live in silos. And so a lot of urban cities, like the one I represent in Hopewell, Virginia, have very high concentrations of industry or chemical plants that are also putting particulates out into the air, and as a result have some of the highest incidences of asthma of any other localities in the state. And a lot of the schools that these kids are attending struggle with mold, because there may be more moisture in the air, and a lot of these schools are over a hundred years old, and their HVAC systems are breaking. We're fighting that right now in the city of Richmond. And this bill would take away a tool from our localities to help protect children from a carcinogen when the problems that the gentleman from New York has identified can be easily solved by turning off the bus. Because an idling bus uses more gas, diesel fuel, is harder on the engine, and pumps out more marti particulate matter and pollution than if you turn the bus off and then you turn it back on. And so rather than saying we're gonna have a one size fits all rule that ignores that some localities are struggling to keep their children from having asthma attacks more than others is is doesn't make sense to me. And then on top of that you have families who because who are who are losing their health insurance Either because the enhanced premium tax credits under the ACA have expired and they can't afford it, or come January, you'll have a lot of people who lose access to their insurance. And you may wonder, what does that have to do with asthma? Well, last week, I was at a round table with the president of a free clinic, who told the story of a family who could no longer afford the abriterol and the inhaler for their child who had asthma. So they had to cut back on how much they bought. And then their son had an asthma attack and died because they could not afford the inhaler. This is serious business that can be the difference for one kid between life and death if they have an asthma attack. And saying to, whether it's New York City or Hopewell or California or wherever, that you know better than the officials there what they need to do to keep bus exhaust from impacting kids is, it just doesn't make sense to me and that's why I support the representative's bill uh amendment to this misguided bill, and I yield back.

Gentleman yields back. Is there further discussion on the amendment? Seeing, a gentleman from New Jersey is recognized for five minutes to speak on the amendment.

Thank you, Chairman. I want to speak in favor of uh Congressman Ocasio-Cortez's amendment. Um, while I don't represent New York City, I represent the Ironbound section of Newark where children that live in the Ironbound, uh about one in four suffer from asthma. because of the environmental conditions that they live and go to school under each and every day and as people that represent these densely populated districts we have to utilize every tool available to us to get better health outcomes for everyone that we represent but especially our children and so i appreciate the congresswoman's amendment which would simply prevent the act from going into effect until the apa administrator certifies that the act will not result in an increase children's exposure to air pollution that's something we should all be aligned on and i certainly am uh whether it's thinking about idling buses or making sure that we have more electric buses that are going through our communities those are the fights that we need to have and we will continue to fight for everyone that we represent and i especially think it's important to consider the members perspective who represent the municipalities uh in question uh and so uh i support this amendment and thank her for her leadership on it. I yield back.

Hillman yields back. Is there further discussion on the amendment? Seeing no further discussion, the question occurs on the amendment. A roll call has been requested and the clerk will call the roll.

Mister Lotta. Mister Lotta votes no. Mister Griffith. Mister Griffith votes no. Mister Bilirakis. Mister Bilirakis votes no. Mister Hudson. mister carter of georgia

yeah

mister carter of georgia votes no mister palmer mister palmer votes no mister dunn mister crinshaw mister joyce mister joyce votes no mister weber mister weber votes no mister allen mister allen votes no mister balderson mister balderson votes no mister folger

folger

mister folger votes no mister flueger Mister Fluecker votes no. Mrs. Harshbarger. Mrs. Harshbarger votes no. Mrs. Miller-Meeks. Mrs. Miller-Meeks votes no. Mrs. Kammek. Mrs. Kammek votes no. Mister Obernolte. Mister James. Mister Bentz. Mister Bentz votes no. Mrs. Halchen. Mrs. Halchen votes no. Mister Frey. Miss Lee.

No.

Miss Lee votes no. Mister Langworthy. mr. langworthy votes no mr. kane no mr. kane votes no mr. rooney no mr. rooney votes no mr. evans no mr. evans votes no mr. goldman no mr. goldman votes no mrs. Fedorchuk no mrs. Fedorchuk votes no mr. yes polone yes mr. polone votes aye mr. gett aye mr. gett votes aye mrs. tchaikowsky

yes

Miss Schakowsky votes aye Miss Matsui Miss Matsui votes aye Miss Caster Miss Caster votes aye Mr. Tonko

Aye.

Mr. Tonko votes aye Miss Clark Miss Clark votes aye Mr. Ruiz Mr. Ruiz votes aye Mr. Peters Mr. Peters votes aye Mrs. Dingle Mrs. Dingle votes aye Mr. Vesey Mr. Vesey votes aye Miss Kelly Miss Kelly votes aye Miss Baragon mister soto mister soto votes aye miss schreier miss schreier votes aye miss trahan miss trahan votes aye miss fletcher miss fletcher votes aye miss ocasio-cortez miss ocasio-cortez votes aye mr. aukencloss mr. aukencloss votes aye mr. carter of louisiana mr. carter of louisiana votes aye mr. menendez mr. menendez votes aye Mister Mullen. Mister Mullen votes aye. Mister Landsman. Mister Landsman votes aye. Miss McClellan. Miss McClellan votes aye. Mister Guthrie.

No.

Mister Guthrie votes no.

Mi- Mister Hudson.

What's the vote for?

Mister Hudson votes no.

Anyone seeking recognition on our side, on the other side? Seeing none, the clerk will report the results.

Mister Chairman, on that though, there were twenty-three ayes and twenty-five noes.

The amendment is not agreed to. Are there further amendments? Gentlemen from Louisiana, what parts do you seek recognition?

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

The clerk will report.

FC underscore AMD HR nine three one seven underscore zero one.

Clerk will report.

Amendment two HR nine three one seven offered by Mister Carter of Louisiana, page two, line nine, strike minutes.

Without objection, the reading of the amendment is dispensed with and gentleman from Louisiana is recognized for five minutes in support of the amendment.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. You know, I I think we have stooped to one of our lowest lows today. Mister Langworthy, your disingenuous and disgraceful attempt to hide behind disabled children as if idling buses and forcing them to breathe these horrible fumes. is somehow the right thing to do. Republicans, Democrats, and the like should be disgusted by this veiled attempt to expose our young people to these harmful fumes. The American people aren't stupid. They can listen to this argument saying let's we need to have more time for these buses to idle so we can help this child get on the bus. My God, turn the bus off. Turn the bus off. I have serious concerns about H R ninety-three one seven, the Buses Act. Let's be honest about what this bill actually does. It doesn't set a minimum standard. It sets a pollution floor. It forces every state and every city in this country to allow buses to idle for at least fifteen minutes before any restriction can apply. Fifteen minutes of diesel exhaust. pumped into the air and into our children's lungs. Our families breathe this every day, mandated by federal law. This bill doesn't stop there. It strips states of the tools to enforce their own clean air protections. It bans citizens' enforcement mechanism, and it blocks any civil action against owners or operators for violi- violating engine idling restrictions. This is big government reaching into our cities and telling them they can no longer protect their residents from air pollution. In the French Quarter, in my hometown and district of New Orleans, one of the busiest, most tourist heavy neighborhoods in the country. The city limits busing bus idling to just ten minutes. That's the local government making local making local judgment about local health. It keeps dense, high traffic tourist corridors breathable. For residents, workers and visitors alike, under this bill, that protection could be wiped out. The science is clear. Diesel exhaust is a serious respiratory hazard. It's linked to asthma attacks, cardiovascular strain, and long-term lung damage, particularly for our most vulnerable children who have developing lungs, the elderly, the people who are pre pre-existing conditions. Local idling restrictions exist. because communities look at their own streets, bus depots, school pickup lines and decided the residents deserve better air. This bill takes those protections away. New Orleans no longer can decide how long these two idols that Indians can idle in the French Quarter or beyond. No matter how many tourists, how many workers are nearby, how many residents and children have to breathe this. This amendment preserves local authority where it matters most. My amendment would allow states and localities to continue enacting idling restrictions for buses operating with one hundred within one hundred feet of a school, daycare facility, nursing home, or hospital, or other health care facilities. Regardless of this bill's federal fifteen minute floor, these are exactly the locations where our most vulnerable populations, children, seniors, and patients already are dealing with illnesses. our our cons- and our concentrated, most susceptible to health harms of diesel exhaust. If this body insists on national idling standards, the least we can do is ensure it doesn't strip protections from the doorstep of our schools and hospitals. I would urge you, Mister Langworthy, to check your conscience. To adjust your thought. To recognize that we aren't stupid. To recognize that American people will not allow you to hide your vile attempt to protect an industry that wants to choke our children and to stand behind a disabled child to do it. Shame on you. Shame on you. I yield.

Mister Chairman, did we really have to have these personal attacks?

So the

It wasn't personal, sir.

The gentleman's gonna be recognized. So you yield back. So, gentleman's gonna be recognized to be able to respond.

Um

Gentleman from New York, recognize for five minutes.

thank you very much mister chairman you know they they all say turn the bus off the safety checks the wheelchair lifts all those things require the bus to be on i mean they they they they're they're just denying that and i just asked a gentleman today i think in new orleans is a hundred degree heat index how many of the school kids do you want to sit on that bus while the heat turns up um is is that Is that taking care of kids, sir?

Will the gentleman yield since you asked me a question?

Certainly.

Yeah, I don't understand, I don't want them to be in it at all, and I also don't want them to breathe additional fumes. Do you realize that the toxins from that bus isn't gonna make it cooler, my friend, it's gonna make it hotter.

Why this bill is important is because a bounty hunter style program was put in place by the city of New York, trying to vilify hardworking bus drivers. and trying to penalize them so people can put personal profit in their pocket. So, it it it has absolutely put these drivers in a terrible position, uh to have to to race, to meet these clocks, and maybe six months down the road get a complaint against them, because someone decided to take an iPhone video of a bus that went two minutes over their allotted time. Uh, it the the absolute theatrics on the other side of the aisle, the personal attacks and the vitriol, is wildly unnecessary and uh i- is shameful in your own right, sir. So I yield back, Mr. Chairman.

Jim Lineals back. Is there further discussion on the amendment? Gentlelady from Gentlelady from New York is recognized for five min- Miss Clark from New York is recognized for five minutes.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last last word.

Gentlelady is recognized to speak on the event.

I'd like to speak in support of this amendment. In the Northeast where communities of color breathe sixty-six percent air pollution from vehicles than their white neighbors. Diseases ranging from heart disease to asthma are becoming dangerously exacerbated in the individuals suffering from them. Brownsville, Brooklyn, which is within my congressional district, has the highest adult asthma rates out of any neighborhood in New York City and across the US. Minorities are the majority who are impacted by this painful illness. Black children in particular have the highest number of asthma attacks among all ethnic groups, and are ten times more likely than their white peers to suffer from asthma, according to the American Lung Association. These tragic figures and facts didn't happen by accident. This is a direct line between the systemic inequities and racism that shape our transportation and investment policies. It is essential that cities like New York are able to uphold strong standards and safeguards for vulnerable communities that are often located nearby, frequently transport transportation routes. That is why I support this common sense amendment that seeks to protect vulnerable committees like, excuse me, communities like children and the elderly from increased exposure to diesel exhaust and allow states and localities to enact more health protective engine idling restrictions when near a school, daycare, nursing home, or hospital. With that, I urge adoption of this amendment. And I'd like to also just say to the gentleman from New York, what's it to you? What is it to you? You're not from New York City. This is very specific to the city of New York. Why is this a problem for you? Our communities have had to suffer from asthma, from heart disease. Yet you have found a reason to go after these communities that have found a solution to a problem that has been plaguing our communities for generations now. With that, I'm just gonna yield uh to the gentlelady from New York.

Thank you, and I'd like to underscore uh the gentlelady's points. What I'd, I again, what I do not understand is that the gentleman proposing these changes and describing what is happening in New York City represents New York's twenty-third congressional district Erie County you cannot get closer to Canada. You cannot get closer to Canada than Erie County and the Congressman's district. you can hardly get further away from New York City than the Congressman's district. And so I understand that uh the Congres- I understand the Congressman's unfamiliarity with the provision and the lack of knowledge around the provision, but that is why we ask that you yield to the individuals who actually represent these communities. We work with these bus drivers. I work for them. I make sure that they're safe just as much as I make sure their kids are safe. I assure you they are not being penalized because common sense provisions exist in this bill. And for the, not the first, not the second, but the third time, when presented with evidence showing that that these claims are outlandish, we're still seeing this insistence on something that's not true. So, what we don't understand here is what is with the energy with targeting New York City and South Bronx kids. Because this provision only targets, we're here at at the federal level targeting a program that ex- exists for one municipality in the entirety of the United States designed for one specific community and municipality in the enti- entire United States. We're not trying to force these reporting requirements on anybody else, but we know that they're necessary so our kids can no longer have the highest asthma rates in the country, in the country. So it's not designed for communities that do not struggle with this issue, but we want to make sure that our kids excel, that our bus drivers are safe. Those carve-outs, I assure you, from the Bronx are there, drivers are not being penalized for loading kids and and having safety provisions. And once again, we don't think that laws for the South Bronx should be dictated, described or or written for people who literally represent areas that could not get close to Can- could not be closer to Canada. So respectfully, let us do our thing and protect our kids. Thank you very much.

I yield back, Mister Chairman.

General Lede yields back. Is there further discussion? Gentleman from uh Texas is recognized for five minutes.

Thank you. I yield to the gentleman from New York.

thank you very much um uh for yielding the time thank you for the recognition mister chairman you're absolutely correct i don't i don't live in new york city um the the idea about new york city policies and i've certainly spent plenty of time in both of your districts i'm very familiar with your city and its laws and how bad they are and how contagious they become to other copycats around the country and that's why we have to take federal action I mean, yes, I I do not live in your district, but uh it doesn't stop you from opining about how we should heat our homes in my district. You have plenty of opinions about how the entire state should govern itself, and how you have absolutely zero concept of what the lifestyle is. I mean, sometimes you travel around to those places and campaign for candidates, and you certainly, you know, uh do a lot of tourism outside of your own district. But let's let's face facts. These are issues, when they start in New York or they start in California, they get contagious and go around the country. We wanna stop a bounty hunter program from vilifying bus drivers that happen to go over a certain limit. So people can create an industry for themselves to make money off of the back of of these bus drivers in these companies that are trying to do their job and take care of the people that they're there to transport. I yield back.

General from Texas.

Yelp.

Heals back. Is there further discussion? Seeing none, the question occurs on the amendment, a roll call has been requested and the clerk will call the roll.

Mister Lotta. No. Mister Lotta votes no. Mister Griffith. I have never heard Mister Lotta in the university. Mister Griffith votes no. Mister Bilirakis. I like the University of Jersey. Mister Bilirakis votes no. Mister Hudson. Mister Carter of Georgia. mister carter of georgia votes no mister palmer mister palm mister palmer votes no mister dunn mister crinshaw mister joyce mister joyce votes no mister weber mister weber votes no mister allen mister allen votes no mister balderson mister balderson votes no mister folger mister folger votes no mister flueger mister flueger votes no miss harshbarger miss harshbarger votes no miss miller-meeks miss miller-meeks votes no miss kamek miss kamek votes no mister obernolte mister james mister binx mister binx votes no mrs. halchen mrs. halchen votes no mister fry

yeah

mister fry votes no misley misley votes no mister lingworthy

no

mister lingworthy votes no mister kain

no

mister kain votes no mister rooney

no

mister rooney votes no mister evans

no

mister evans votes no mister goldman mister goldman votes no mrs. Fedorchuk mrs. Fedorchuk votes no mr. Pilon mr. Pilon votes aye mrs. Degette miss Degette votes aye miss Schakowsky

aye

miss Schakowsky votes aye miss Matsui

aye

miss Matsui votes aye miss Castor

aye

miss Castor votes aye mr. Tonko

aye

mr. Tonko votes aye miss Clark miss Clark votes aye mr. Ruiz mr. Ruiz votes aye mr. Peters mr. Peters votes aye mrs. Dingle mrs. jingles votes aye mr. vizzi mr. vizzi votes aye miss kelly miss kelly votes aye miss bargon mr. soto mr. soto votes aye miss schreier miss schreier vote miss schreier votes aye miss trahan miss trahan votes aye miss fletcher miss fletcher votes aye miss acoccio-cortez miss acoccio-cortez votes aye mr. aukencloss mister aukencloss votes aye mister carter of louisiana mister carter of louisiana votes aye mister menendez mister menendez votes aye mister mullen mister mullen votes aye mister landsman mister landsman votes aye miss mcclellan miss mcclellan votes aye mister guthrie mister guthrie votes no mister hudson is not recorded mister hudson votes no

the clerk will report

mister chairman on that vote there were twenty three eyes and twenty six nose

The amendment is not agreed to. Are there further amendments?

Mister Chair?

Do Oh, the gentleman from New York is recognized.

An amendment.

Uh, what purpose does a gentleman from what purpose

I

does a gentleman from New York take recognition?

I have an amendment at the desk. It's labeled HR nine three one seven underscore O three.

The clerk will report.

Amendment two, HR nine three one seven, offered by Mister Tonko. Add at the end the following, section three limitation. This act, including the amendments made by this act, shall not take back.

Without objection, the reading of the amendment is suspensed with, and the gentleman from New York is recognized for five minutes as forwarding the amendment.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. President Trump's reckless and illegal war with Iran is burdening Americans with persistently high fuel prices. Since February, each Aram- American has paid hundreds of dollars more for gas and others uh and others, and other goods and thanks to President Trump, including a combined forty-one billion dollars at the pump for their gasoline. And the nationwide average for diesel fuel is currently over five dollars and sixty cents per gallon. Americans have paid more than thirty-four billion dollars in higher diesel prices since the start of the war, and that affects everyone, whether they drive a diesel vehicle or not. Diesel is used to power our freight industry, which means an extra thirty-four billion dollars to move food and goods around the country. which is being passed on to Americans in higher grocery prices. It is clear that President Trump has completely failed to understand the ramific ramifications of his decisions, including how this war will be impacting the global economy for years to come. And unfortunately, the Buses Act would double down on this failure, since most of our buses use diesel. Anti-idling laws protect public health. We heard today of the benefits that are um brought the way of our children. And uh certainly uh those anti-idling laws are um addressing unnecessary air air pollution, and they also reduce wasted fuel. Ar Argonne National Laboratory has found that idling in the United States wastes more than six billion doll- uh six billion gallons of fuel per year. At this time of high fuel prices, we should not be doing anything that will worsen the situation for Americans' wallets. In fact, lowering demand by reducing wasted fuel is a very sensible, immediate action that could help relieve pressure on everyone who is paying more at the pump or having costs passed on to them at the grocery store. So this amendment is simple. It prevents the Buses Act from taking effect until the EPA administrator finds it will not increase spending on fueling costs for Americans. We cannot afford to jump from one reckless policy to another. Let's take the time to figure out whether the Buses Act will worsen the current pain at the pump before we allow more diesel fuel to be wasted. Let's do right by our kids, let's do right by our communities, and let's do right by our environment. With that, I urge members to support this amendment, Mister Chair, and I yield back.

Chairman, on yields, do, is there any other member who wishes to speak on the amendment?

Yeah, roll call.

Saying none, a roll call has been requested, the clerk will call the roll.

mister lotta mister lotta votes no mister griffith mister griffith votes no mister bill rauches mister bill rauches votes no mister hudson mister carter of georgia mister carter of georgia votes no mister palmer mister palmer votes no mister dunn mister crinshaw mister joyce mr. joyce votes no mr. webber mr. webber votes no mr. allen mr. allen votes no mr. balderson mr. balderson votes no mr. folger mr. folger votes no mr. flueger mrs. harshbarger mrs. harshbarger votes no mrs. miller-meeks mrs. kamik mrs. kamik votes no mr. obernalte mr. james mr. bentz mr. bentz votes no mrs. halchen mrs. halchen votes no mr. frey

no

mr. frey votes no miss lee miss lee votes no mr. langworthy

no

mr. langworthy votes no mr. kane mr. kane votes no mr. rooney

no

mr. rooney votes no mr. evans

no

mister evans votes no mister goldman mister goldman votes no mrs. Fedorchuk mister polone mister polone votes aye miss de gett miss de gett votes aye miss schakowsky

aye

miss schakowsky votes aye miss mat sui

aye

miss mat sui votes aye miss caster miss caster votes aye mister tonko

aye

mister tonko votes aye miss clark miss clark votes aye mr. ruiz mister ruiz votes aye mister peters mister peters votes aye mrs. dingell mrs. dingell votes aye mr. vesey mister vesey votes aye miss kelly miss kelly votes aye miss baragon miss baragon votes aye mr. soto mr. soto votes aye miss schreier miss schreier votes aye miss trahan miss trahan votes aye miss fletcher miss fletcher votes aye miss acasio-cortez miss acasio-cortez votes aye mr. aukencloss mister aukencloss votes aye mister carter of louisiana mister carter of louisiana votes aye mister menendez mister menendez votes aye mister mullen mister landsman mister landsman votes aye miss mcclellan Miss McClellan votes aye.

Miss McClellan.

Mister Guthrie Mister Guthrie Mister Guthrie votes no. Mister Crenshaw votes no. Mister Hudson votes no. Mister Flueger votes no.

Is the channel coming? Is it on?

It's right there.

Did you go?

how's mister guthrie recording

mister mr guthrie is recorded as now

Okay, the clerk may uh report the total.

Mister Chairman, on that there there were twenty-three ayes and twenty-five noes.

amendment is not agreed to are there any other amendments so we'll just have one more

i don't know i'll just have to look at the process yeah yes

they're both

Okay. Um, we will now have a a recorded vote on on final passage of of the bill. The clerk will call the roll.

Mister Lotta. Mister Lotta votes aye. Mister Griffith. Mister Griffith votes aye. Mister Bilirakis. Mister Bilirakis votes aye. Mister Hudson. Mister Carter of Georgia. Mister Carter of Georgia votes aye. mr. palmer mister palmer votes aye mister dunn mister crinshaw mister joyce mister joyce votes aye mister weber mister allen mister allen votes aye mister balderson mister balderson votes aye mister folger mister folger votes aye mister flueger mrs. harshbarger mrs. harsparger votes aye mrs. miller-meeks mrs. kamik mrs. kamik votes aye mr. obernoelty mr. james mr. bincz mr. bincz votes aye mrs. halchen mrs. halchen votes aye mr. fry mr. fry votes aye ms. lee ms. lee votes aye mr. langworthy mr. langworthy votes aye mr. kain mr. kane votes aye mr. rooley

aye

mr. rooley votes aye mr. evans

aye

mr. evans votes aye mr. goldman

aye

mr. goldman votes aye mrs. Fedorchik mr. polone

no

mr. polone votes no miss to get no miss to get votes no miss tchaikovsky

no

miss tchaikovsky votes no miss mat suey miss mat suey votes no miss caster miss caster votes no mr. tonko

no

mister tonko votes no miss clark miss clark votes no mister ruiz mister ruiz votes no mister peters mister peters votes aye mrs. dingell mister mrs. dingell votes no mister vesey mister vesey votes no mrs. kelly mrs. kelly mrs. kelly votes no mrs. bargon mrs. bargon votes no mr. soto mr. soto votes aye miss schreier miss schreier votes no miss trahan miss trahan votes no miss fletcher miss fletcher votes no miss acasio-cortez miss acasio-cortez votes no mr. auchincloss mr. auchincloss votes no mr. carter of louisiana mr. carter of louisiana votes no mr. menendez mr. menendez votes no mr. mullin mr. landsman mr. landsman votes no miss mcclellan miss mcclellan votes no mister guthrie mister guthrie votes aye

is anyone seeking how's mister flueger recorded

mister flueger votes aye

mister hudson

Mr. Flueger

mister hudson votes aye

mister crenshaw

Mr. Soto is aye

mister crenshaw votes aye

mister weber

aye

mister weber votes aye

mister soto

Mister Voto is off, I on now.

Is there anyone else seeking recognition? If not, the clerk will report.

Mister Chairman, on that vote there were twenty-six ayes and twenty-two noes.

The bill is agreed to is adopted. I'm sorry, the bill is adopted. So the chair calls up HR nine six one five and asks the clerk to report.

H R nine six one five, a bill to support the recycling and recovery.

Without objection, the first hearing of the bill is dismissed with, and the bill will be opened for amendment at any point so ordered. Does anyone seek recognition to speak on the bill? The gentleman from Alabama is recognized for five minutes to speak on the bill.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, this legislation, the brace act as a bipartisan bill to strengthen America's domestic battery recycling industry and recover critical minerals already in our country. I would like to uh thank uh my colleagues across the aisle, representatives Menendez and Riz for uh co-sponsoring this this bill. Demand for lithium ion batteries has grown exponentially, driven by electric vehicles, energy storage, communications and consumer products. As these batteries reach the end of their lives, recycling can recover valuable critical including lithium, cobalt, nickel, and copper. Yet, much of this material is sent overseas often to China for processing. Our current RCRA regulations, which predate the widespread use of lithium ion batteries, create unnecessary costs and uncertainty for recyclers. The BRACE Act will allow destination facilities to store lithium ion batteries at the same location where they are recycled eliminating unnecessary cost or the need for complex permits. These common sense updates will help grow domestic battery recycling and strengthen our critical mineral supply chain. I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield back.

Gentleman yields back, and the gentleman from California is recognized for five minutes to speak on the bill.

Thank you, Mister Chairman, I'm proud to be a Democratic co-leader of this bipartisan bill with my colleagues, uh, Representative Doctors Miller-Meeks and Representative Menendez. As uh demand for lithium ion batteries grows, we cannot afford to keep treating used batteries as waste to be landfilled or shipped overseas here is where the problem lies the rules governing these batteries at the end of their life were written for a different era of technology epa's universal waste program the streamlined system that's supposed to make recycling batteries easier was built around lead acid and nickel cadmium batteries it was never designed for lithium ion chemistry And it shows. These rules do not reflect how lithium ion batteries need to be handled, stored, and kept safe from fire. The EPA has been working since twenty twenty-three to build a new regulatory category specifically for lithium batteries, because the current rules leaves recyclers guessing and fail to address the real risks, such as fires, prolonged fires, that this technology poses. The BRACE Act sets storage standards for destination recycling facilities that are built for lithium ion batteries, not borrowed from decades-old rules for a different chemistry. That means domestic recyclers finally get standards that match reality, so they can recover critical min- materials like lithium, cobalt, and nickel right here at home, instead of watching that value and those jobs walk out the door to foreign competitors. California's twenty-fifth district is home to Lithium Valley, the largest known lithium deposit in North America, fifth largest in the world. My district is on the front lines of building America's domestic battery supply chain using direct lithium extraction to pull the raw material that powers this technology out of the brine in the geothermal uh region, uh down below, uh filtering the lithium out. Uh, because right now we are only building half the supply chain, we need to dramatically increase our own domestic's supplies of batteries. And we need to do better at recycling our batteries that we manufacture. The BRACE Act finishes the job by giving us the capacity to recycle and recover these materials at the end of life, to turning what could become a growing waste problem into good paying jobs, real economic opportunity, and long-term investment in a region that has been overlooked for too long. Strong recycling infrastructure means the jobs stay here, the tax base stays here, and the materials stay here, instead of getting shipped overseas, processed, and sold back to us as a mark-up. I urge my colleagues to support H R nine six one five, and I yield back.

Jimen yields back. Is there further discussion? Gentleman from Pennsylvania is recognized for five minutes to speak on the bill.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Recently, I had the opportunity to visit McDermott Alpha's metal recycling facility in my district in Altoona, Pennsylvania. This facility recycles solder and recovers electronics grade metals to return into the supply chain. Legislation like the BRACE Act that we are considering now will help push EPA to modernize regulations so that recyclers that want to recover critical materials can operate successfully as McDermott Alpha is doing right here, in the United States today. The US does not produce the volume of critical materials necessary to supply the needs of an advanced economy. This problem will only get worse as we introduce new technology both in industry and in our daily lives. Even more troubling is the fact that current legislation and regulations stand in the way of recycling and reusing these materials once they have entered our supply chain. As we work to build our ability to process critical materials, growing our battery recycling capabilities will help bridge the domestic supply gap that we currently are facing. From the phone that's in your pocket to the starling satellites in orbit, that connect you to the rest of the world, critical materials are necessary for all of our modern technologies that power and improve our daily lives. This is an important issue. I applaud my colleague, Representative Miller-Meeks, for her work on this bipartisan legislation, and I thank Chairman Guthrie for including this bill in our mark-up today. Thank you, and I yield back.

The gentleman yields back. Is there further discussion? Gentleman from New Jersey is recognized for five minutes to speak on the bill.

Thank you, Chairman. The Battery Recycling for America's competitive Economy Act, or BRACE Act, is a bipartisan compromise that offers a practical win for both the environment and our domestic supply chain. Lithium-ion batteries power everything from electric vehicles, to smartphones, to grid-scale energy storage. As demand for these resources grows, so does the need to recover and reuse the materials we already have in circulation, so we can reduce waste, conserve critical minerals, and mitigate the environmental impacts associated with their extraction. It is also an important supply chain issue. As China dominates the critical mineral supply chains that support clean energy, advanced technology and our national defense, building domestic recycling capacity can help keep valuable materials here in the United States. The BRACE Act provides a negotiated path forward to support lithium-ion battery recycling while maintaining meaningful safeguards for workers in surrounding communities. It would create parity between facilities that temporarily store lithium-ion batteries, for recycling and recyclers who store battery waste on-site. And it would introduce additional safety and management requirements for those recyclers while the EPA develops a rule. Critically, the bill directs the EPA to promptly issue much needed lithium-ion specific regulations that provide solutions for the unique safety environmental risk these batteries pose. And it requires the EPA to consider necessary safety protections as part of that rulemaking, which is vital given the fire hazards that lithium-ion batteries This bill pushes the EPA to establish clear standards to protect workers and fence line communities reduce waste and strengthen our critical mineral supply chains there is more work ahead but this bill is an important first step toward a safer more circular and more resilient battery economy I urge my colleagues to support both support both the amendment and the underlying bill I yield back.

The gentleman yields back as for further discussion on the bill seeing none are there any amendments the gentleman from Alabama

Thank you.

For what purpose do you seek recognition?

Mister Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Identify the amendment? Is it FC Ains uh O six nine six one five O one? Yeah, j- clerk can report that amendment.

Amendment in the nature of a substitute to the committee print for HR nine six one five.

Without objection, read the amendment that's dispensed with and gentleman is recognized for five minutes to support of the amendment.

Thank you, Mister Chairman. I'm pleased to offer an amendment to the bill that contains a small technical clarification and correction to the reference code of federal regulations provisions. We greatly appreciate the time that the battery and recycling industries, waste management law experts, and NGOs have spent reviewing this bill and providing feedback. The minor revisions in sections two B of the bill clarify that interim requirements under this bill that allow battery recycling facilities or designation facilities temporarily store batteries prior to recycling would apply to battery recycling facilities that handle both small and large quantities of universal waste. Additionally, this amendment corrects one reference to the EPA's universal waste regulations. Both the majority and minority have provided input on this amendment in line with the bipartisan spirit of this bill. These small changes ensure Congress's directives are clear. I encourage my colleagues to support this amendment. Now yield back.

Gentlemen, yields back, is there further discussion on the amendment? Seeing none, the question occurs on the amendment. All those in favor will vote aye. Aye.

Aye.

All those opposed, no. The ayes have it. The amendment is agreed to. Are there further amendments? Seeing none, the question now occurs on adopting H R nine six one five as amended, a roll call has been requested and the clerk will call the roll.

Mister Lotta.

Aye.

Mister Lotta votes aye. Mister Griffith. mister griffith votes aye mister bill rauchus mister hudson mister carter of georgia mister palmer mister palmer votes aye mister dunn mister crenshaw mister joyce mister weber mister allen mister allen votes aye mister balderson mister folger mister folger votes aye mister pflueger missus harschbarger missus harschbarger votes aye missus miller-meeks missus kamik mister obernolte mister james mister bentz mr. binns votes aye mrs. houchin mister frey mister frey votes aye miss lee miss lee votes aye miss mister langworthy mister langworthy votes aye mister kane mister kane votes aye mr. rooley mister evans mister evans votes aye mister goldman mrs. Fedorchuk mister polone mister polone votes aye miss degette miss degette votes aye miss tchaikovsky miss tchaikovsky votes aye miss matsui miss matsui votes aye miss caster miss caster votes aye mr. tanko mister tonko votes aye miss clark miss clark votes aye mister ruiz mister ruiz votes aye mister peters missus dingle missus dingle votes aye mister vesey mister vesey votes aye miss kelly miss kelly votes aye miss bargon mister soto mister soto votes aye miss schreier miss schreier votes aye miss trahan miss trahan votes aye miss fletcher miss fletcher votes aye miss acasio-cortez mister auchincloss mister auchincloss votes aye mister carter of louisiana mister carter of louisiana votes aye mister menendez mister menendez votes aye mister mullen mister landsman ms. McClellan ms. McClellan votes aye mister guthrie mister guthrie votes aye mister biller-rockus votes aye

mister carter

mister carter georgia votes aye

doctor joyce

mister joyce votes aye

mister rooney

Mister Rooley votes aye.

Mister Balderson.

Aye.

Mister Balderson votes aye.

Miss Fedorchuk.

Aye.

Miss Fedorchuk votes aye.

Miss Miss Baragon.

Aye.

Miss Baragon votes aye.

Doctor Ruiz.

Aye.

Mister Ruiz votes aye.

Mister Ruiz.

Mister Peters.

Mister Ruiz. Mister Rooiz. Aye.

Mister Garcia-Cortez.

Mister Peter.

Aye.

Mister Garcia-Cortez votes aye.

Are there any other people? Oh, Mister Goldman.

Mister Goldman votes aye.

Oh. Oh, Mr. Crenshaw.

Mr. Crenshaw.

Mr. Crenshaw votes aye.

Mr. Mr. Lansman? Oh, Crenshaw. Um, wait, let's, I'll let you stop. All right, so we got Mr. Crenshaw, right?

Mr. Crenshaw.

So, Mr. Hudson?

Mr. Bozai.

Mr. Hudson votes aye.

Miss, Miss Halchen?

Miss Halchen votes aye.

Mr. Lansman?

Aye.

Aye.

Mr. Lansman votes aye.

Yeah, yeah, okay, I'm sorry.

That was dramatic. It was a dramatic pause.

I'm It's a dramatic pause. Any other? People seeking. The clerk will report. The clerk will report.

Oh, okay. Mister Chairman, on that vote there were forty-six ayes and zeroes.

The ayes have it, the bill is adopted. The chair calls up H R three nine seven eight and asks the clerk to report.

H R three nine seven eight, a bill to amend the definition of production facility.

Without objection, uh the reading of the bill is dismissed with, and the bill will perform amendment at any point. So ordered. Does anyone seek to be recognized and speak on the bill?

I was okay, thank you.

Are you gonna do it? You can do it from here?

Yep, okay.

Okay, okay, there we go. Yeah, I will do that, thank you.

Thank you.

And the chair recognizes himself for five minutes of speak on the bill. H R thirty nine seven eight would clarify an atomic energy act definition of a production facility to exclude spent fuel reprocessing facilities bringing them in line with the licensing framework of other fuel cycle these facilities a strong and robust domestic nuclear fuel cycle is a paramo is paramount to maintaining and growing nuclear capacity in the united states the deployment of advanced reactors in the in the operation of our existing fleet cannot be done without access to an abundant secure fuel supply Efficient licensing of reprocessing facilities as this bill ensures advances our policy to maximize access to the additional energy as well as isotopes available in spent nuclear fuel the nuclear fuel refuel acts supports this goal by clarifying that spent fuel reprocessing films facilities will be licensed under the same framework as other fuel cycle facilities rather than production facilities. which require a longer two-step process for licensing, more appropriate for nuclear reactors. We strengthened this bill during our subsidy market by clarifying that only reprocessing philis facilities that do not isolate plutonium are excluded from the definition of production facility and that requirements pertaining to the export of reprocessing facilities remain unchanged. Both changes maintain the goal of the bill while ensuring strong non-proliferation barriers are maintained. The bill will insure industry has efficient licensing path to deploy spent fuel reprocessing while maintaining all necessary requirements to assure adequate protection of the public. Well, I think my co- our colleague, the gentleman from California's fiftieth district, for his work on the legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, I yield back the balance of my time. Our and the chair now recognizes the gentleman from California's fiftieth district, for five minutes speak on the bill.

Thank you, Mister Chairman, our nuclear is an emissions-free and base load power source that is and can be a critical part of our generation mix, especially as energy demand continues to rise. I have to emphasize we we have to continue to work to do the work we we are doing on a durable path for interim and long-term storage and utilization of a nuclear waste. We need it need to get it off the coast to places like San Onofre and areas where the science tells us it's safe to go not just where the politics allowed. Meanwhile, we should also encourage innovation in advanced nuclear that can generate power while producing less waste. We can continue to invest in nuclear technologies that use nuke- that use waste as a power source which is the focus of this bill the Nuclear Refuel Act. One key aspect of our nuclear strategy that has consistently been ignored as we build new nuclear power is the solution to this question of nuclear waste, specifically the long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel. This doesn't have to be an either-or. We need to regain our ability to build nuclear power in this country as we move toward a solution for nuclear waste. To do that, we have to remove barriers to recycling and other advanced uses for spent fuels. That's why the Nuclear Refuel Act is such a solid first step. I'm glad the committee is moving moving it onto the floor. Making it easier to recycle and reuse spent fuel keeps it in reactors and away from communities. It also helps us keep a good reliable ch- uh, supply chain of fuel, which is good for national security. I want to thank Chair Lotta, Chair Guthrie and Ranking Member Pallone and their staffs for working hard to insure the Nuclear Refuel Act could be considered and advanced during today's mark-up. While this bill is only one component of a larger, more comprehensive solution to what we do with spent nuclear fuel, I urge my colleagues to support it, because it gives us another tool in our toolbox without sacrificing safety or oversight. Here may I yield that.

Thank you. The gentleman goes back. The chair now recognizes the gentleman from Idaho's first district. Five minutes. Speak on the bill.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Strike last word.

The gentleman's recognized.

Thank you. I support HR three nine seven eight to amend the definition of a production facility to clarify the spent fuel processing facilities may be licensed under the same regulatory process as other fuel cycle facilities rather than a production facility. My home state of Idaho is home to the Idaho National Lab, the premier nuclear research facility in the country. In July, Department of Energy announced that Idaho is one of five states, including Tennessee, Utah, Oklahoma and Louisiana as potential host states for the Nuclear Life Cycle Innovation Campus, a new effort to strengthen and modernize the nation's full nuclear fuel cycle. It's expected that the campus will attract significant investment, expand domestic manufacturing and create thousands of new high-paying jobs. The United States is seeing a resurgence in nuclear energy and Idaho is leading the way. With that, I support H R three nine seven eight and yield back.

Thank you. This gentleman yields back. Are there any other members wishing to speak on the bill? This gentleman from Florida is recognized for five minutes. Speak on the bill.

Thank you, Chairman. Energy prices are rising, especially because of tariffs, the the war and and more. And so it's more important than ever that we're modernizing our energy mix in Florida and across the nation. and making it cleaner and more affordable. Natural gas, nuclear and solar provide the foundation powering the sunshine state. Natural gas uh doesn't have the coal issues that we've uh seen with the coal ash in central Florida, and solar is expanding by leaps and bounds. We currently have two gray hydrogen plants mixing solar, creating h hydrogen, mixing it with methane. Uh, eventually these plants will go to full green hydrogen in places like Osceola, and Okeechobee with the FPNL and Duke leading the way. And nuclear plants are a critical part of that mix. Uh, we need to continue to make sure they're safe, that we're advancing the technology, that we're lowering costs, and that we are uh lowering CO two emissions. But that progress has stalled. Since two thousand we've only seen three new nuclear units constructed in our country. Today we have a slate of bipartisan bills to modernize our nuclear policy. These bills will modernize reprocessing of spent fuel rods, streamline construction, regulation in public hearings, restructure the nuclear advisory committee, increase NRC's salaries, and improve transparency. All these reforms will improve and speed up the construction of uh nuclear power plants that we make sure maintain critical safety standards increase our lower emissions, lower energy costs, and uh help modernize um the energy system both in Florida and across the nation. With that, I yield back.

Thank you. The gentleman yields back. The chair now recognizes the gentleman from Colorado's eighth district, for five minutes to speak on the bill.

Thank you, Mister Chairman, and thank you uh to my good friend uh Mister Peters uh for your work on this bipartisan common sense piece of legislation. Uh, I'm a proud co-sponsor of the Nuclear Refuel Act and uh one of the other nuclear

Um, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting these bills. And I do wanna clarify something that I just heard though. Uh, energy prices are rising, at least in Colorado, because state Democrats, who happen to be located in the capital city of Denver, are mandating a sixty-one billion dollar transition toward less affordable energy sources. And that's their own twenty twenty five study that shows that their energy policies are costing Coloradans sixty one billion more dollars. While that's happening, this administration and congressional Republicans are focused on and prioritizing practical uh practical affordable policies that strengthen American energy leadership and lower costs. As I continue uh focusing on an all of the above stra- uh energy strategy, nuclear energy must remain an essential part of that platform. The United States must establish a full nuclear fuel cycle to meet emerging energy demand with reliable energy sources and strengthen our energy security. My district is home to the last operating nuclear power plant in Colorado. It was decommissioned in the nineteen eighties. And while it now serves my community as a natural gas generating uh electrical generating plant uh Fort St. Vrain still stores over thirty-three thousand pounds of spent nuclear fuel. Witnesses who have testified in front of this committee previously have confirmed that the Nuclear Refuel Act will spur innovation in recycled and used nuclear fuel and that helps us pursue domestic opportunities for development this is good policy not only because it helps us secure a reliable energy system it helps rate payers who are looking for energy solutions that are low cost and effective but also because it allows us to put spent fuel to good use instead of just leaving it right now where it is in our communities i have been lucky to work across the aisle with my good friend mister peters and others on permitting reform efforts since the beginning of

Thank you, gentlemen, Yield's back, is there any further discussion on the bill?

Thank you.

Are there any amendments to the bill? If there are no further, if there are no further discussion, the questionnaire occurs on HR thirty nine seventy eight and a row call has been requested and the clerk will call the roll.

Mister Lotta.

Aye.

mister lottivitz aye mr. griffith mister bill rauches mister hudson mister carter of georgia mister palmer mister dunn mister crenshaw mister joyce mister joyce bids aye mister weber mister allen mister allen bids aye mister balderson Mister Balderson votes aye Mister Fulcher. Mister Fulcher votes aye Mister Flueger. Misses Harshbarger. Misses Harshbarger votes aye. Misses Miller-Meeks. Misses Kammack. Mister Obernolte. Mister James. Mister Bentz. Mister Bentz votes aye. Misses Houchin. Misses Houchin votes aye. Mister Frey. Mister Frey votes aye. Miss Lee. mister langworthy

aye vote

mister langworthy votes aye mister kane mister kane votes aye mister rooney

aye

mister rooney votes aye mister evans

aye

mister evans votes aye mister goldman mister goldman votes aye mrs. fedorchuk

aye

mrs. fedorchuk votes aye mister polone

aye

mister polone votes aye mister gett

aye

mister gett votes aye mr. tchekowsky miss mat suey miss matsui votes aye miss caster miss caster votes aye mr. tonko miss clark mr. ruiz mr. peters mr. peters votes aye mrs. jingle mrs. jingle votes aye mr. vesey mr. vesey votes aye miss kelly miss kelly votes aye miss bargon mister soto mister soto votes aye miss reyer miss reyer votes aye miss trahan miss trahan votes aye miss fletcher miss fletcher votes aye miss acoscio cortez miss acoscio cortez votes aye mister aukencloss mister aukencloss votes aye mister carter of louisiana mister carter of louisiana votes aye mister menendez mister menendez votes aye mister mullin mister landsman mister landsman votes aye miss McClellan miss McClellan votes aye mister guthrie mister guthrie votes aye

uh this is a gentleman from north carolina recorded Hudson votes aye

mister Hudson votes aye

gentleman from florida mr. Billericay votes aye

mister billeracus votes aye

gentleman from virginia votes aye

mister griffith votes aye

gentleman from georgia aye

mister carter georgia votes aye

gentleman from alabama palmer votes palmer votes aye

mis- mister palmer votes aye

uh the general lady from illinois palmer votes aye palmer is on is palmer voted

mr. kowski is not recorded

ok tomorrow is the fourth gentleman from new york yes i'm on a roll yes

mr. kowski votes aye

the gentleman from new york oh i thought oh gentleman from

mister tonka is not recorded mister tonka votes aye

the gentleman from california

miss bargon is not recorded

i'm sorry the the gentleman

oh

uh i'm sorry

sorry mister ruiz votes aye

and and and the general lady from california aye

uh miss bargon does aye

the general lady from new york

the miss clark is not recorded miss clark does aye

are there any other members wishing to record their vote hearing none the clerk will report

i see it a little bit but i didn't like it Mister Chairman, on that there there were forty-four ayes and zeroes.

Thank you very much. The ayes have it and the bill is adopted. The chair calls up H R ninety six twelve and asks the clerk to report.

H R ninety six twelve, a bill to amend the atomic

Without objection, the first reading of the bill is dispensed with, and the bill will be opened for amendment at any point so ordered. Does anyone seek to be recognized on the bill? Are there any amendments on the bill?

Mister Chairman, I have an amendment.

For for what purposes the gentleman from South Carolina wish to be recognized?

Mister Chairman, I have an amendment in the nature of a substitute uh on the desk.

The uh clerk will uh report the on the amendment.

Amendment in the nature of a substitute to HR ninety six twelve, offered by Mister Fry. Strike all after.

With without objection the reading of the amendment is

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The goal of H R ninety-six twelve, which I introduced along with Miss Schreier and Miss Halchen, is to amend the Atomic Energy Act so that the license licensing for these facilities aligns with the more efficient framework for other nuclear fuel uh cycle facilities, namely the uranium conversion and fuel fabrication. The bill makes clear, for example, that construction of enrichment facilities would be allowed prior to licensing under the same terms and conditions already applicable to these other types of fuel cycle facilities. Testimony from industry experts indicated that these provisions could shave off over a year from the licensing process. There would be no impact on safety assessments or inspections, no impact on environmental assessments required under NEPA, nor any of the requirements or safeguards and security to meet the relevant provisions of the Atomic Energy Act. It will not affect the ability of people affected by licen by the licensing from requesting a hearing. Uh, this aims, which reflects bipartisan agreement, simply perfects the bill to ensure that it more fully aligns with congressional intent. It removes an excess provision related uh relating to inspections made unnecessary by core amendments to the bill. This helps ensure that the licensing framework matches that of other fuel facilities. It moves clarifying NRC authorities to another section of the bill. And it uh adds explicit language that NEPA requirements will not be affected, uh and that the authority of the NRC to conduct inspections of enrichment facilities will also not be affected. If we're gonna build out our nuclear industry, we need nuclear fuel for that industry. And we need to secure abundant supply of that fuel made domestically. Uh in my state of South Carolina, for example, where nuclear power makes up fifty-nine percent of our electricity, we're planning a major expansion to meet our power demands for industry and our residents. American enrichment expansion is essential for that nuclear build-out, and this bill helps it make it make it more efficient path to safe and secure and more abundant enrichment in the United States. I urge uh support of the aims and for H R ninety-six twelve broadly. With that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.

Uh, thank you very much. Is are there any other members? The gentlelady from Washington's eighth district is recognized for five minutes.

Thank you, Mister Chairman, and and thank you uh to Representatives Frye and Houchen for their partnership on this. Uh, as we work to expand our nation's build-out of nuclear power, we need a steep, rapid increase in our domestic production of nuclear fuel. And right now, um, we don't have enough enrichment capacity. One thing standing in our way is how we regulate enrichment facilities during the licensing process. Um, and unlike applicants of most standard fuel cycle facilities, uranium enrichment facility applicants can't begin construction of the facility prior to licensing. This is referred to as at-risk construction because there is a risk that the license will be denied, but many applicants are willing to take that risk. Uh, the licensing process can take years, and any delays in licensing or construction just leave us further behind in building our own enrichment capacity and bringing nuclear energy to market. So building while going through the licensing process saves time without compromising any safety. Adversaries like Russia have far surp surpassed us and own nearly half of the world's uranium enrichment capabilities and meanwhile, the US has just one operating enrichment plant. And with the ban on Russian uranium inputs that this committee very appropriately enacted, we need our own nuclear fuel supply chain. It's a national security issue. So that's why I'm so proud to lead the american enrichment deployment act with congressman frey and congresswoman hauchen to streamline uh the licensing process for the enrichment facilities while preserving nrc's safety mission uh this would give applicants of uranium enrichment facilities the exact same option to start at-risk construction that applicants of other fuel cycle facilities can utilize um i wanna thank chairman guthrie and uh chairman lata's staff along with representative frey uh for offering this amendment to clarify some portions of the legislative text of this bill. The amendment makes clear that existing permitting rules still apply to enrichment facilities. Um we were never far apart on the intent uh but this amendment just helps make things crystal clear and makes the bill even stronger. So for the sake of our uh energy independence and national security and an imminent need to fuel advanced reactors and reduce greenhouse gas emissions I urge this committee vote yes on this amendment and on the bill and i yield back thank you

well thank you very much the general lady yields back are there other members the for what purpose does the general lady from indiana seek recognition

i wish to speak on the amendment

the general lady is recognized for five minutes speak on the amendment

thank you uh chairman lotta i also want to thank uh representatives fry and schreier for their partnership on this uh very important uh bill which will modernize outdated licensing quirks that treat uranium enrichment facilities different from every other link in the uranium uh nuclear fuel chain, costing years and hundreds of millions of dollars without adding a shred of additional safety. It removes a bottleneck, not a safeguard, and it's a key part to standardizing America's approach to nuclear. It allows for faster construction and deployment of our nuclear facilities with, again, no risk to safety. Sourcing abundant fuel will be a key component to unlocking America's nuclear renaissance and delivering emissions-free power that the growing economy needs. Again, this bill is developing a framework that is essential for energy providers to increase and develop our domestic disp- supply, including companies like Fanco, based in Indiana, it makes common sense that we would allow for certain construction uh to go ahead and continue uh through the process, eliminating potentially years of delays which um nuclear in our port portfolio, especially uh small modular nuclear reactors, uh should be part of the energy conversation for the United States. I'm very pleased to be uh helping on this effort, again my thanks to uh representative fry for his leadership and uh miss schrier for uh partnership on this very important bill thank you mister chairman i yield back

thank you uh are there any other members wishing to be recognized to speak on the aims hearing none uh a vote will occur on the aims uh all of those in favor will signal signify by saying aye aye All those opposed, nay. The ayes have it, and the ains is agreed to. Are there any further amendments to the bill? Hearing none, the question now occurs on adopting the um HHR ninety six twelve as amended, a roll call vote has been requested and the clerk will call the roll.

Mister Lotta.

Aye.

Mister Lotta votes aye. Mister Griffith. Mister Griffith votes aye. Mister Bilirakis. Mister Billeroccus votes aye Mister Hudson Mister Carter of Georgia Mister Palmer Mister Dunn Mister Crenshaw Mister Joyce Mister Joyce votes aye Mister Weber Mister Allen Mister Allen votes aye Mister Balderson Mister Balderson votes aye Mister Fulcher Mister Fulcher votes aye Mister Flueger Misses Harshparger Misses Harshparger votes aye Misses Miller-Meeks Misses Kammack Mister Obern- Obernolte Mister James Mister Binz Mister Binz votes aye Misses Halchen Misses Halchen votes aye Mister Frey

Aye.

Mister Frey votes aye Miss Lee mr. langworthy

aye

mr. langworthy votes aye mr. kane mr. kane votes aye mr. rooney

aye

mr. rooney votes aye mr. evans

aye aye

mr. evans votes aye mr. goldman mr. goldman votes aye mrs. fedorchuk

aye

mrs. fedorchuk votes aye mr. polone

aye

mr. polone votes aye mr. gett

aye

mr. gett votes aye miss schakowsky

aye

miss schakowsky votes aye miss matsuey

aye

miss matsui votes aye miss caster miss caster votes aye mr. tonko

aye

mr. tonko votes aye miss clark miss clark votes aye mr. ruiz mr. peters mr. peters votes aye mr. ruiz votes aye mrs. jingle mrs. jingle votes aye mr. vesey mr. vesey votes aye miss kelly miss kelly votes aye miss bargon miss bargon votes aye mr. soto mr. soto votes aye miss schreier miss schreier votes aye miss trahan miss trahan votes aye miss fletcher miss fletcher votes aye miss ocasio-cortez miss ocasio-cortez votes aye mr. auchincloss mr. auchincloss votes aye mr. carter of louisiana mr. carter of louisiana votes aye mr. menendez mr. menendez votes aye mr. mullin Mister Lansman. Mister Lansman votes aye. Miss McClellan. Miss McClellan votes aye. Mister Guthrie. Mister Guthrie votes aye.

Mister Palmer.

Mister Palmer is not recorded.

Palmer votes aye.

Mister Carter.

Mister Carter votes aye.

Palmer votes aye.

Mister Carter of Georgia votes aye.

Anyone seeking to answer the roll call? Seeing none, the clerk will report.

mister chairman on that vote there were forty three ayes and zeroes

the ayes have it and the bill is adopted The chair calls up H R five five four nine and asks the clerk to report.

H R five five four nine, a bill to amend the Atomic Energy Act of nineteen fifty-four to provide for more efficient hearings on nuclear facility construction applications, and for other purposes.

Without objection, the first reading of the bill is dispensed with and the bill will be open for amendment at any point. So, order. Does anyone seek recognition to be recognized on the bill for what purpose is the gentleman From Virginia, seek recognition, to strike the last word.

No, but Just to speak on the bill.

You know, I know, that's procedurally wrong. Right? I just wanted to point that out. All right, the gentleman is recognized.

Mr. Chairman, thank you for letting me speak on uh my bill, H R five five four nine, the efficient nuclear licensing hearing act. I am proud to see this bipartisan bill that I introduced along with uh Congresswoman Schreier and Congressman Vesey be included on today's full committee mark-up H R five five four nine. would amend the Atomic Energy Act to repeal the requirements for a public nuclear reactor license hearing even when no one in the public or an affected party requests such hearing. In most cases, these mandatory hearings for operating licenses only occur because they are required by law, not because they are essential for fact-finding exercises or for fact- or or for fact-finding exercises of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. These really are the hearings that nobody asks for. Mandatory hearings are relics from the nineteen fifties when nuclear licensing processes were first being structured, and every reactor design was a novel one. Today, the need for uncontested hear- for the uncontested hearing is simply a waste of resources. We had a hearing earlier this year where um the recollection that I have is that one of the witnesses said that a nuclear license applicant pays a fee of over three hundred dollars per hour for NRC staff to prepare for the hearing. And one of the witnesses said there could be up to twelve NRC staff at each hearing. You can see how that can add up pretty quickly on the cost for an applicant. Multiple current and former former NRC commissioners of both parties have agreed that mandatory hearings are not necessary. Removing this mandatory hearing would in no way affect public scoping and citing meetings. Repealing mandatory hearings would also not affect the right of any affected party to request a hearing on specific matters. The bill also codifies current NRC practices that use informal non-adversarial hearing procedures. Over the past two Congresses, this committee has received testimony showing that repealing this hearing requirement would not jeopardize public safety. I thank Congresswoman Schreier and Congressman Vesey for helping lead this bill with me and I urge all of my colleagues to vote in favor of reporting it to the floor. Thank you so much, and I yield back.

Gentleman yields back, the gentlelady from Washington, is recognized for five minutes to speak on the bill.

Uh, thank you, Mister Chairman, I am proud to lead the efficient nuclear licensing hearing act with Congressman Griffith and Congressman Vesey to reduce some of the administrative burdens that just slow licensing of nuclear reactors. As I noted earlier, we need to increase the pace of our rollout of nuclear energy without Right now, nuclear regulators are required to hold a hearing on both contested and totally uncontested nuclear reactor projects. Thousands of staff hours, uh, and associated costs are dedicated to these totally unnecessary hearings. Uh, for uncontested projects, these hearings are just delaying operations. I mean, this is the very definition of red tape, and this time could be so much better spent on critical environmental review, or on reviewing actually contested projects. Our bill solves this issue by only requiring a hearing when the issue is contested, so that our regulators are most effectively serving their mission to protect public health and safety. And critically, the bill does not alter in any way the right of someone to request a contested hearing. This pragmatic move uh and balance shifts our regular's focus toward the issues that matter and less on an outdated, unnecessary, and procedural process. Uh, this bipartisan bill cuts red tape, lowers energy costs, and brings clean energy onto the grid faster. I urge this committee to vote yes on this bill, and I yield back.

Jane, lady yields back, is there further discussion, gentleman from New Jersey is recognized for five minutes to speak on the bill.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'd like to speak on the bill. Uh, Mr. Chairman, I am in support of the efficient nuclear licensing hearings act, of which I am a co-sponsor. I thank my colleagues, representatives Griffith and Schrier, for leading it. This legislation represents an opportunity to modernize outdated and burdensome government regulation by allowing the NRC to operate within the reality of current regulatory needs not decades old regulation. This bipartisan bill will allow us to get more clean, safe power on the grid quicker and at a lower cost while still including opportunities for public engagement and expert review. I support common sense steps to get more power on the grid, safely and as soon as possible, to lower costs, to improve stability, and to increase reliability for New Jersey families. I stand ready to continue to support good government re- regulatory approaches like this bill, that will reduce costs, strengthen the grid, and improve service for all Americans. I again thank my colleague for leading this effort, and I urge support of the bill. Thank you, and I yield back.

The gentleman yields back. The gentleman from Texas is recognized for five minutes. And uh, before you go, I'll just for the voice for the whole committee, I know your your dear wife lost her mother right before we adjourn. And so we all in our thoughts and prayers. And the gentleman's recognized for five minutes.

Uh, Mister Chairman, thank you very much, I I really appreciate that, and and so will my wife. Um I was very proud to work with Mister Griffith and uh Doctor Shire on this uh efficient nuclear licensing hearing act I believe that this is a great bipartisan bill that is going to cut red tape that's already been said and bring more efficiency I really do believe that when you start talking about nuclear power it is going to be one of the keys that are going to be necessary to help us to meet a lot of the rise in energy demands that we're going to have uh along with cutting carbon emissions, which I know is very um uh important. Um, I know that there's no perfect form of of energy. I was all I'm that's why I don't like to use the term clean energy. I always like to use the term cleaner energy. Uh, and I believe that nuclear power can bring cleaner energy. This is going to cut delays in the NRC's licensing of new nuclear power plants without sacrificing safety or public input and it's also wouldn't save taxpayers millions of dollars by speeding up approvals and helping bring down energy costs, for families in my state of Texas and across the country. Uh, this bill is about good governance and right now the NRC is required to hold a hearing before it can issue a license for a new reactor, even when no one has raised an objection. Uh, that this bill simply removes that automatic requirement and it does not touch the right of anyone affected uh by a proposed reactor to request a hearing. Uh, that right stays fully intact and what changes is the default. Instead of every license triggering a hearing whether or not there was a dispute. Hearings happen when someone actually requests one. Uh, that distinction is gonna be very important because these mandatory hearings take real time and real resources, and we have a lot of energy that we have to get up. Uh, I think, uh, if you look at where l- nuclear energy is now versus versus where it was when I was elected in two thousand and twelve we made just giant leaps forward with it being embraced more And we have all these controversies around data centers now, which is also going to be a a energy issue. And we have a lot on our plate, energy-wise, that we're going to have to solve for this country. And nuclear energy can be a big part of us being able to do that. And again, I want to thank uh, Representative Griffins and Shire for their work on this. And I yield back my time. Thank you.

Gentleman yields back. Is there further discussion? Saying none, are there any amendments for the bill? Seeing none, and no further discussion, the question now occurs on adopting five five four nine, a roll call has been elected, or been elected, requested, and the clerk will call the roll.

Mister Lotta.

Aye.

Mister Lotta votes aye. Mister Griffith. Mister Griffith votes aye. Mister Bilirakis. Mister Bilirakis votes aye. Mister Hudson. mister carter of georgia mister carter of georgia votes aye mister palmer mister palmer votes aye mister dunn mister crinshaw mister joyce mister joyce votes aye mister weber mister allen mister allen votes aye mister balderson mister balderson votes aye mister folger mister folger votes aye mister flueger mrs. harshbarger Mrs. Harshbarger votes aye. Mrs. Miller-Meeks. Mrs. Kammack. Mr. Obernolte. Mr. James. Mr. Bentz. Mr. Bentz votes aye. Mrs. How Mrs. Howchin. Mrs. Howchin votes aye. Mr. Fry. Miss Lee. Mr. Langworthy.

Aye.

Mr. Langworthy votes aye. Mr. Kane. Mr. Kane votes aye. Mr. Rooley. mister rooney votes aye mister evans mister evans votes aye mister goldman mister goldman votes aye mrs. fedorchuk mrs. fedorchuk votes aye mister polone

aye

mister polone votes aye mister gett

aye

mister gett votes aye miss schakowsky

aye

miss schakowsky votes aye miss mat sui

aye

miss mat sui votes aye miss caster

aye

miss caster votes aye mister tonko

aye

mister tonko votes aye miss clark miss clark votes aye mister ruiz mr. ruiz votes aye mr. peters mr. peters votes aye mrs. dingell mrs. mrs. dingell votes aye mr. vesey mr. vesey votes aye miss kelly miss kelly votes aye miss bargon mr. sotto mr. sotto votes aye miss schreier miss schreier votes aye miss trahan miss trahan votes aye miss fletcher miss fletcher votes aye miss acasio-cortez Mr. Cascio-Cortez votes aye. Mr. Auchincloss. Mr. Carter of Louisiana. Mr. Carter of Louisiana votes aye. Mr. Menendez. Mr. Menendez votes aye. Mr. Mullen. Mr. Mullen votes aye. Mr. Lansman. Mr. Lansman votes aye. Miss McClellan. Miss McClellan votes aye. Mr. Guthrie.

Aye.

Mr. Guthrie votes aye.

Was there anyone seeking to recall? Mr. Hudson?

Aye.

Mr. Hudson votes aye.

Mister Auchincloss.

Mister Auchincloss is not recorded. Mister Auchincloss votes aye.

Miss Baragon.

Miss Baragon is not recorded. Miss Baragon votes aye.

Is anyone else seeking to answer the roll? Seeing none, the clerk will report.

Mister Chairman, on that vote there were forty-four ayes and zero nay noes.

The ayes have it and the bill is adopted. The chair calls up H R nine six one three and asks the clerk to report.

H R nine six one three. A bill to update the role of the advisory committee on reactor safeguards, and the licensing and oversight of nuclear reactor facilities, and for other purposes.

Without objection, the first reading of the bill is dispensed with, and the bill will be open for amendment at any point. So, order, does anyone seek to be recognized on the bill? Anyone? So, the gentlelady from Florida?

I have an amendment at the desk.

Gentlelady from Florida has a member of the desk. Would you identify the amendment?

It's ANS dash HR nine six one three dash

The clerk will report.

Amendment in the nature of a s of a substitute to H R nine six one three offered by Ms. Castor.

Straight.

Without objection, the reading of the amendment is dispensed with and the young lady from Florida is recognized for five minutes in support of our amendment.

Thank you, Mister Chairman, back in July during the energy subcommittee's mark-up on uh this bill, I indicated that I had some concerns with it and suggested a path forward. And I'd like to thank you, Mister Chairman, and your team for negotiating on an amendment that addressed uh my issues while keeping the bill's main uh push for efficiency. I think this compromise gets us a more a more efficient nuclear licensing process without sacrificing transparency or safety. Yeah, so it's a win-win. This bill is about the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, or ACARS. For over seventy years, this committee has provided valuable technical expertise to the Atomic Atomic Energy Commission. and its successor, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Uh, they advise on the safety of nuclear reactors. In the coming years, NRC will hopefully be dealing with a wave of new innovative advanced reactor designs, and the acres will be more important than ever. Um, right now, the law states that the acres has t- has to review every single nuclear react- reactor application. For well-established reactor designs, that have been built a dozen times over, I don't think that makes a lot of sense. But the the review is vital for new reactor designs or license applications that bring other unique novel or noteworthy designs. So the ACRs and the NRC have already started working together to ensure that the committee's focus is on the highest value areas. This bill codifies that, but importantly the amendment would let uh the nuclear experts themselves and not the politically appointed NRC determine which areas deserve their attention. This is critical to giving reviews of advanced nuclear reactors a thorough independent and technical review. Uh this amendment also restores the committee's ability to look at safety issues present in a nuclear power plant uh but beyond the reactor core, ensuring that the American people can have confidence in the safety of the entirety of the nuclear reactor. Overall, this compromise will let the technical experts focus entirely on the highest, uh, the issues of highest importance, issues that are new and that have safety implications. It lets the commi- the experts do their work inset instead of silencing them. So I think it's a win for safe, uh, and clean nuclear energy. Again, I wanna thank you, Mister Chairman and Representative Harshberger for uh working to find a bipartisan path forward.

I urge all members of the committee to support the amendment and to vote yes on final passage of the underlying bill. Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay.

The General Lady yields back. Is there further discussion of the amendment? General Lady from Tennessee is recognized for five minutes to speak on the amendment.

Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, I want to speak in support of the aims. Uh, we had a thoughtful discussion about the ACRS at the subcommittee mark-up this past July as Representative Caster said. Ranking member Colon and Representatives Caster and Ocasio-Cortez race about the risk that the legislation might uh unnecessarily limit ACRS's ability to advise on important safety matters and I committed at that point to work to address the concerns and the ACRS is an important independent advisor to the NRC for uh reactor licensing, and it's had a long history of assisting nuclear regulatory commission decisions on unique and important safety and technical issues. Congress established the ACRS in law in the nineteen fifties, to assist the commission on safety significant issues when it was licensing the first generation of nuclear reactors those reactors and technologies are now well characterized and understood and we heard in testimony during the legislative hearing that the nr c technical staff is well equipped to deal with licensing issues with the record of some forty five hundred years of operational experience of the existing fleet to draw from however a new wave of technologies on the horizon in certain specific circumstances would very much still benefit from ACRS independent review and advice. And the goal of H R ninety-six thirteen is to focus ACRS' work on where it will provide the greatest value for the university and the public. The bill amends the Atomic Energy Act to direct that ACRS focus on issues that are directly related to reactor design or safety significant and are novel and have not been previously acted upon by the committee. And this aim reflects constructive input by the minority staff to maintain this focus while addressing the minority's concerns. The aims drops uh the provisions that require ACRS to act on application reviews only when the commission directs it to act. It also provides ACRS the flexibility to choose not to do a review if it decides the review is unnecessary if the application doesn't raise issues that warrant review. ACRS controls the decision, and this is a good compromise. In the end, this bill helps align the mission of the ACRS with the mission of the NRC as we outlined in the advance act, and the aims uh effectively puts ACRS in the driver's seat for what to review, and does so in a way that will make its work for the NRC and the public more efficient and useful. This aims to reflect collaborative bipartisan work and should be widely supported. So thank you, Mister Chairman. With that, I yield back.

General, I yield back, is there further discussion of the amendment? Gentleman from Texas is recognized to speak on the amendment.

Thank you very much, Mister Chairman, Texas is in the middle of the biggest energy build-out in the country. Our great operator is projecting demand growth that will require every resource we can bring online, including next generation nuclear. This bill and and amendment eliminates bureaucratic duplication in the nuclear permitting process allowing novel and safety significant reviews to move forward, in a more efficient manner. I'd like to thank my friend from Tennessee, and for her leadership on this critical reform. Also like to thank Miss Caster and the colleagues across the aisle for working to advance this legislation. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.

Gentleman yields back. Is there further discuss discussion of the amendment? Seeing none, the question occurs on the amendment. All those in favor shall say aye.

Aye.

All those opposed nay. The ayes have it, and the amendment is agreed to. Are there further amendments? Seeing none, the question now occurs on adopting H R nine six one three as amended. A roll call has been requested and the clerk will call the roll.

Mister Lotta. Mister Lotta votes aye. Mister Griffith. Mister Griffith votes aye. Mister Bilirakis. Mister Bilirakis votes aye. Mister Hudson. Mister Carter of Georgia. mister carter of georgia votes aye Mister palmer

aye

mister palmer votes aye mister dunn mister crinshaw mister joyce mister joyce votes aye mister weber mister allen mister allen votes aye mister balderson mister balderson votes aye mister folger mister folger votes aye mister flueger missus harschbarger missus harschbarger votes aye missus miller-meeks Mrs. Kammack. Mister Obernolte. Mister James. Mister Bentz. Mister Bentz votes aye. Mrs. Houchen.

No.

Mrs. Houchen votes aye. Mister Frey. Misley. Mister Langworthy. Mister Langworthy votes aye. Mister Cain. Mister Cain votes aye. Mister Rooley. Mister Rooley votes aye. Mister Evans. mister evans votes aye mister goldman mister goldman votes aye mrs. Fedorchek mrs. Fedorchek votes aye mister polone

aye

mister polone votes aye miss de gett

aye

miss de gett votes aye miss chukowsky

aye

miss chukowsky votes aye miss mat sui

aye

miss mat sui votes aye miss caster miss caster votes aye mister tonko

aye

mister tonko votes aye miss clark mister ruiz mister ruiz votes aye mister peters mr. peters votes aye mrs. dingle mrs. dingle votes aye mr. vesey mr. vesey votes aye miss kelly miss kelly votes aye miss bargon miss bargon votes aye mr. soto mr. soto votes aye miss schreier miss schreier votes aye miss trahan miss trahan votes aye miss fletcher miss fletcher votes aye miss ocasio-cortez mr. aukencloss mr. aukencloss votes aye mr. carter of louisiana mister carter of louisiana votes aye mister menendez mister menendez votes aye mister mullen mister mullen votes aye mister landsman mister landsman votes aye miss mcclellan miss mcclellan votes aye mister guthrie mister guthrie votes aye

and anyone seeking recognition to answer the roll call saying none the clerk will report

Mister Chairman, on that vote there were forty-one ayes and zero noes.

The ayes have it and the bill is agree adopted. The chair calls up H R nine six one four and asks the clerk to report.

H R nine six one four, a bill to amend the Atomic Energy Act of nineteen fifty-four to provide compensation authority for certain career appointees and for other purposes.

Without objection, the first hearing of the bill is dispensed with, and the bill will be open for amendment at any point so ordered. Does anyone seem to be recognized on the bill? Gentleman from Georgia, see you're recognized for five minutes to speak on the bill.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I would like to speak in support of H R ninety-six fourteen, the NRC staff pay alignment act. The level of expertise demanded by positions at the NRC require highly qualified candidates, candidates which are also desirable for the private sector, creating retention pressures. To help usher in the nuclear renaissance and the deployment of advanced the NRC will need to attract and maintain a robust, specialized workforce. This is why the committee granted the NRC special workforce authorities in the advance act, to ensure the commission has the proper staff to conduct safety and oversight, and to provide an efficient and predictable licensing framework, to get more reactors built at lower and lower energy cost. H R ninety six fourteen, the NRC staff pay alignment act makes a technical fix to the workforce authority we granted the NRC and the Advance Act. The correction ensures that the special workforce authorities are provided the career senior executive service positions at the NRC who play a vital role in fulfilling the NRC's mission. This technical fix to the Advance Act will help the NRC maintain a strong specialized workforce as well as the quality management necessary to carry out NRC's mission. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and I yield the balance in my time.

Gentleman yields back. The gentleman from New Jersey is recognized for five minutes to speak on the bill.

Thank you, Chairman. I'm grateful that the committee is continuing to advance my bill, HR ninety six fourteen, the NRC Staff Pay Alignment Act. This bill would increase the pay of senior executive service positions at the nuclear regulatory commission to help the commission recruit and retain experts I want to especially thank congresswoman DeGette, who authored advance act provisions that laid the groundwork for this bill. Hiring and retaining safety experts at the NRC is paramount to keeping our community especially as nuclear energy continues to become a central piece of the conversation about meeting our rapidly growing energy demands. In New Jersey, nuclear is a core piece of the state's plan to address skyrocketing energy bills. We can all agree that nuclear reactors have unique safety risk for our communities. That's why it's so important that we build trust about the safety of nuclear facilities. And trust is built through independent institutions that are responsible for ensuring reactors meet the highest standards of safety imaginable. those institutions such as the nrc must be fully staffed with the top experts in nuclear safety this bill helps us do just that however since january twenty twenty five over four hundred career staff have left the nrc with teams that handle safety experiencing the most significant staff reductions and since january twenty twenty five there have been several other red flags i'd like to take a moment to highlight just a few of those seth cohen who was leading the doge charge at the nrc said the goal was to make the agency a quote rubber stamp for the trump administration and dismiss safety concerns raised by nr c staff. Career nr c lawyers working on key cases have left the nr c. In april the democratic commissioners testified before the energy subcommittee that they were concerned about being fired for not approving a nuclear reactor, the trump administration wants. Incidences like those erode public trust and confidence in the nr c, an agency that is historically independent and trusted to keep safety as a core pillar of their work and generally puts our communities at risk. But this bill is an important first step toward rebuilding trust. It gives the NRC a tool to hire and retain the best experts in the industry. This bill can help the federal government compete with the private industry, incentivizes top experts to stay at the commission. I urge my colleagues to support the bill and I yield back.

Will the gentleman yield?

Yes.

To me? Okay, thank you.

Yeah, of course.

Um, well, I I just um I wanna thank the gentleman for sponsoring this bill and carrying the torch further, recognizing that if we are actually going to try to build more nuclear reactors, we have to have um we have to have qualified staff over at the nr c and as the gentleman said last congress former energy subcommittee chairman jeff duncan and i passed the advance act to accelerate the development and licensing of of nuclear energy but as the gentleman said um we've had systemic staff under agency understaffing all the whole time and so that's why it's so important that we pass this legislation we need it more than ever to reach the nation's ambitious nuclear energy goals. And, um, frankly, the Trump administration has ha- even though the stated goal is to increase nuclear energy, the fact is what they're doing with the workforce is really, uh, hurting us. The NRC was already facing a shrinking workforce, this w- which is why we needed the Advance Act. But, um, but at the same time, As you heard, a Democratic commissioner was fired, offloaded eh uh authority to the energy department, and then the White House said it was gonna review all draft rules. Last year, the NRC lost over ten percent of its workforce, which is more than three hundred and thirty staff positions, mostly senior positions. And one third of those departures accepted government-wide buyouts from Doge. In the ni- last nineteen months, This agency has lost five hundred and ten employees and has only added fifty-nine new staff. So, if you're trying to license more reactors more quickly, if safety, which it needs to, is to remain paramount, the NRC needs more staff with the proper expertise to ensure the new reactors are safe. And that's why we have to give the NRC more tools, but we also have to make sure that their existing tools like their senior staff are used to the best of their ability what we have heard since the advance act passed is the nrc has underutilized the tools that we gave them partially out of fear that the authorities were to be designed to be applied to a broad class of employees and so so that's not the case that was never the case it was never intended they were designed to give the nrc flexibility even to specific employees and not just be a blunt tool. And so I hope that this legislation will help clarify that. I hope the NRC can use it to deploy its tools. And I hope we can have meaningful steps to enable the NRC to address these staffing shortages. Thank you again, uh, Congressman Menendez, for doing this bill. I yield back.

Thank you. I yield back.

Billman yields back. Is there further discussion on the the bill? Is there a amendment? No, it's just no. Any further discussion on the bill? Seeing none, the question now occurs uh question now occurs on adopting H R nine six one four. A roll call has been requested and the clerk will call the roll.

Mister Lotta.

Aye.

Mister Lotta votes aye. Mister Griffith. Mister Griffith votes aye. Mister Bilirakis. Mister Hudson. Mister Hudson votes aye. Mister Carter of Georgia. mister carter of georgia votes aye mister palmer mister palmer votes aye mister palmer votes aye mister dunn mister crinshaw mister crinshaw mister joyce mister joyce mister joyce votes aye mister joyc votes aye mister weber mister allen mister allen mister allen votes aye mister allen votes aye mister balderson mister balderson votes aye mister balderson votes aye mister folger mister folger votes aye mister folger votes aye mister fluger mrs. harshbarger mrs. harshbarger votes aye mrs. miller-meeks Mrs. Miller-Meeks votes aye. Mrs. Kammack. Mr. Obernolte. Mr. James. Mr. Binz. Mr. Binz votes aye. Mrs. Houchin. Mrs. Houchin votes aye. Mr. Frey. Ms. Lee. Mr. Langworthy. Mr. Langworthy votes aye. Mr. Kane. Mr. Kane votes aye. Mr. Rooley. Mr. Rooley votes aye. Mr. Evans. mister evans votes aye mister goldman mister goldman votes aye mrs. Fedorchuk mrs. Fedorchuk votes aye mister polone mister polone votes aye mister gett

aye

mister gett votes aye miss schakowsky

vote aye

miss schakowsky votes aye miss matsui

aye

miss matsui votes aye miss caster

aye

miss caster votes aye miss mister tonko

aye

mister tonka votes aye miss clark mister ruiz mister ruiz votes aye mr. peters mister peters votes aye mrs. dingell mister vesey mister vesey votes aye miss kelly miss kelly votes aye miss baragon mister soto mister soto votes aye miss schreier miss schreier votes aye miss trahan miss trahan votes aye miss fletcher miss fletcher votes aye miss ocasio-cortez mister auchincloss mister auchincloss votes aye mister carter of louisiana mister carter of louisiana votes aye mister menendez mister menendez votes aye mister mollen mister mollen votes aye mister landsman mister landsman votes aye miss mcclellan miss mcclellan votes aye mister guthrie mister guthrie votes aye

is anyone seeking to answer the roll call Seeing none, the clerk will report.

Mr. Bilirakis.

Um, do you, Mr. Bilirakis, how's he recorded?

Mister Bilirakis is not recorded. Mister Bilirakis votes aye.

McCorkle will report. Oh, before you report, is how's Ms. Baragon? Ms. Baragon recorded.

Ms. Baragon is not recorded. Ms. Baragon votes aye.

The clerk will report. Nobody else.

Mister Chairman, on that vote there were forty-two ayes and zero noes.

The ayes have it, and the bill is adopted. The chair calls up HR nine zero eight four and asks the clerk to report.

H R nine O eight four, a bill to increase transparency relating to the Department of Energy's authorizations of certain nuclear facilities.

Without objection, the first reading of the bill is dispensed with, and the bill will be open for amendment at any point. So ordered. Does anyone seek to be recognized on the bill?

Mr. Chairman.

For what purpose did the gentlelady from Iowa seek recognition?

Move to strike the last word.

General Lady, uh, General Ladies, recognize to speak on the bill.

Yes, sir. Uh, thank you, Mister Chairman, I'm proud to co-lead HR ninety eighty four, the Department of Energy Nuclear Transparency Act with Representative Castor. Our bill would direct the Department of Energy to publicly announce information on decisions related to nuclear licensing and authorization activities. Transparency is a vital component of maintaining the public's trust in our nuclear regulators. And keeping the public informed on Department of Energy's nuclear activities helps uphold this transparency. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission already diligently follows public notification and engagement practices throughout its nuclear licensing process. This bill ensures that the DOE maintains similar standards to keep the public and Congress well informed on its nuclear activities. After bipartisan deliberation and technical input from the DOE and experts experts, this bill was refined, a min has was refined amendment to provide more time for the DOE reporting and strength and protections for sensitive information disclosures I appreciate my colleagues across the aisle for their meaningful input to get this bill right. I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I yield back.

General Eddie yields back and the general eddie from Florida seeks recognition to speak on the bill general eddie is recognized for five minutes.

To speak on the bill. Thank you, Mister Thank you, Mister Chairman, colleagues, over the past year the Department of Energy has renewed efforts to authorize and stand up advanced nuclear reactors, test reactants, Uh, the DOE test r pilot program is helping reduce perceived risk and catalyze private investment and advance US strategic leadership. Done right, uh, this program could help ensure that this nuclear renaissance actually takes off. Done wrong, it could shatter public confidence in nuclear energy for a generation. Uh, so while all the progress is important, It is equally necessary to provide transparency in the decision-making processes at DOE. Um, on the previous bill you heard about how many, hundreds of expert technical staff at DOE have been, um, fired or lost. They had great technical capacity. It's a little worrisome about what's really going on at the department as they proceed with this nuclear renaissance. Nuclear energy cannot succeed in the United States without public trust in the industry. Uh, so my bill with my colleague from Iowa says the Department of Energy, uh, uh, has to be transparent. That's what our Nuclear Transparency Act is all about. It would introduce transparency requirements for DOE's nuclear programs, ensuring that its safety decisions can withstand public and industry scrutiny. And I think we can all agree that congressional oversight is very important. It's also important that we distinguish between DOE's uh authorities and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's separate approval process for new commercial reactors. If done correctly, and with the right policy support, nuclear energy can safely power the US economy with clean and reliable energy. Uh, I appreciate all of us working together to advance this bill and I urge everyone to support it and yield back. Thank you.

Gentlelady yields back. Is there further discussion on the bill? Seeing none, are there any amendments to the bill? Seeing none, the question now occurs on adopting HR nine zero eight four. A roll call has been requested and the clerk will call the roll.

Mister Lotta. Mister Lotta votes aye. Mister Griffith. Mister Griffith votes aye. Mister Bilirakis. Mister Hudson. mister hudson votes aye mister carter of georgia mister carter of georgia votes aye mister palmer mister palmer votes aye mister dunn mister crinshaw mister joyce mister joyce votes aye mister weber mister allen mister allen votes aye mister balderson mister balderson votes aye mister folger mister folger votes aye mister flueger Mrs. Harshbarger. Mrs. Harshbarger votes aye. Mrs. Miller-Meeks. Mrs. Miller-Meeks votes aye. Mrs. Kammack. Mr. Obernolte. Mr. James. Mr. Bentz. Mr. Bentz votes aye. Mrs. Halchen. Mrs. Halchen votes aye. Mr. Frey. Ms. Lee. Mr. Lingworthy.

Aye.

Mr. Lingworthy votes aye. Mr. Kane. Mr. Kane votes aye. Mr. Rooley. mr. rooney votes aye mr. evans mr. evans votes aye mr. goldman mr. goldman votes aye mrs. fedorchek mrs. fedorchek votes aye mr. polone mr. polone votes aye mr. gett miss schakowsky miss schakowsky votes aye miss mat sui miss mat sui votes aye miss caster

aye

miss caster votes aye mr. tonko

aye

mr. tonko votes aye miss clark mr. ruiz mr. ruiz votes aye mr. peters mr. peters votes aye mrs. dingell mr. vici mr. vici votes aye miss kelly miss kelly votes aye miss bargon miss bargon votes aye mr. soto mr. soto votes aye miss schreier miss schreier votes aye miss trahan miss trahan votes aye miss fletcher miss fletcher votes aye miss acasio-cortez mr. achincloss mister aukencloss votes aye mister carter of louisiana mister carter of louisiana votes aye mister menendez mister menendez votes aye mister mullen mister mullen votes aye mister landsman mister landsman votes aye miss mcclellan miss mcclellan votes aye uh mister guthrie mister guthrie votes aye

is anyone seeing recognition how's mister bill rauches recorded

mister bill rauches is not recorded Mister Biller-Achis votes aye.

Anyone else seeking recognition? Sign on the Clark River Report. Did Troy get recorded, I guess? I guess he must have.

Mister Chairman, on that vote there were forty-one ayes and zeroes.

The ayes have it and the bill is adopted. And I want to thank everyone between the hearing right b- I mean the mark-up right before our August work period and today we've done a substantial lot of bipartisan work. And so our work's to get it across the floor, so we really appreciate everybody's hard work and hard effort. And without objection, staff is authorized to make technical and conforming changes to the legislation approved by the Committee today, so ordered without objection, the committee stands adjourned.

Excellent. Yeah.