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 protect American states, workers, and businesses from federal sanctions caused by pollution that originates outside the United States.
The issue matters because current regulations can penalize U.S. communities for failing to meet air quality standards even when the cause is emissions beyond their control, such as those coming from other countries or resulting from natural events like wildfires.
“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 would amend the Clean Air Act so that the Environmental Protection Agency cannot label areas as nonattainment if states can show they would otherwise meet air quality standards except for emissions coming from outside the country. It also protects states from federal fees or sanctions when poor air quality results from foreign emissions, exceptional events such as wildfires, or mobile source pollution entirely out of state control. To maintain accountability under this new framework, states must renew their demonstration every five years.
Harrigan called on the Senate to advance the measure: “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 won against Ralph R. Scott Jr., receiving 57.5% of votes.
If passed by both chambers of Congress and signed into law, supporters say this legislation could change how environmental policy affects communities located near international borders or exposed to cross-border pollution.
