FENCES Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6409 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 6409

To amend the Clean Air Act to clarify standards for emissions emanating 
       from outside of the United States, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 3, 2025

 Mr. Pfluger introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Clean Air Act to clarify standards for emissions emanating 
       from outside of the United States, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Foreign Emissions and Nonattainment 
Clarification for Economic Stability Act'' or the ``FENCES Act''.

SEC. 2. EMISSIONS BEYOND CONTROL.

    (a) Clarification of Emissions Covered.--Section 179B of the Clean 
Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7509a) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(regardless of whether such emissions 
        result from human activity)'' after ``but for emissions 
        emanating from outside of the United States'' each place it 
        appears; and
            (2) in subsection (d), by inserting ``(regardless of 
        whether such emissions result from human activity)'' after 
        ``but for emissions emanating from outside the United States''.
    (b) Designations.--Section 179B of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 
7509a) is further amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Designations.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an 
area within a State may not be designated as a nonattainment area with 
respect to any new or revised primary or secondary national ambient air 
quality standard for a pollutant if such State establishes to the 
satisfaction of the Administrator that such area would be in attainment 
with such national ambient air quality standard for such pollutant but 
for emissions emanating from outside of the United States (regardless 
of whether such emissions result from human activity).''.
    (c) Applicability of Sanctions and Fees if Emissions Beyond 
Control.--The Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) is amended by 
inserting after section 179B the following new section:

``SEC. 179C. APPLICABILITY OF SANCTIONS AND FEES IF EMISSIONS BEYOND 
              CONTROL.

    ``(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, 
with respect to any nonattainment area that is classified under section 
181 as a Severe Area or an Extreme Area for ozone or under section 188 
as a Serious Area for particulate matter, no sanction or fee under 
section 179 or 185 shall apply with respect to a State (or an area or 
source therein) on the basis of a deficiency described in section 
179(a), or the failure to attain a national ambient air quality 
standard for ozone or particulate matter by the applicable attainment 
date, if the State demonstrates that the State would have avoided such 
deficiency, or such standard would have been attained, but for one or 
more of the following:
            ``(1) Emissions emanating from outside the nonattainment 
        area.
            ``(2) Emissions from an exceptional event (as defined in 
        section 319(b)(1)).
            ``(3) Emissions from mobile sources to the extent the State 
        demonstrates that--
                    ``(A) such emissions are beyond the control of the 
                State to reduce or eliminate; and
                    ``(B) the State is fully implementing such measures 
                as are within the authority of the State to control 
                emissions from the mobile sources.
    ``(b) No Effect on Underlying Standards.--The inapplicability of 
sanctions or fees with respect to a State (or an area or source 
therein) pursuant to subsection (a) does not affect the obligation of a 
State, area, source, or other entity under other provisions of this Act 
to establish and implement measures to attain a national ambient air 
quality standard for ozone or particulate matter.
    ``(c) Periodic Renewal of Demonstration.--For subsection (a) to 
continue to apply with respect to a State (or an area or source 
therein), the State involved shall renew the demonstration required by 
subsection (a) at least once every 5 years.''.
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