Congressman Pat Harrigan of North Carolina’s 10th District voted on Apr. 16 in favor of H.R. 6409, known as the Foreign Emissions and Nonattainment Clarification for Economic Stability Act. The legislation aims to prevent American states, workers, and businesses from facing federal sanctions due to air pollution that originates outside the United States.
The issue matters because some states are penalized under current regulations even when they meet air quality standards except for emissions coming from other countries or uncontrollable sources. Supporters say the new measure would ensure that local communities are not unfairly held responsible for pollution beyond their control.
“Radical policies want to pile more rules on our states, our workers, and our manufacturers while giving foreign polluters a free pass,” said Congressman Harrigan. “If a state is doing everything right and still falling short of an air quality standard because of emissions crossing our border, Washington has no business punishing them for it. The Green New Deal crowd has spent years using regulations like this to crack down on American industry, and this bill puts a stop to it.”
The FENCES Act proposes changes to the Clean Air Act so that the Environmental Protection Agency cannot designate areas as nonattainment if states can show they would meet standards except for foreign emissions. It also protects states from federal fees or sanctions related to exceptional events such as wildfires or mobile source pollution outside their jurisdiction. States would be required to renew their demonstration every five years.
Harrigan called on the Senate to approve the bill: “Congressman Harrigan is urging the Senate to pass the legislation and stand up for American energy, American jobs, and basic common sense against more bureaucratic overreach from Washington.” In recent elections, Harrigan defeated Ralph R. Scott, Jr., winning with 57.5% of the vote according to Ballotpedia.
Supporters believe this legislation could have significant effects by changing how environmental regulations impact local economies near international borders or affected by cross-border pollution.
