Congress moves to kill EPA's HFC phasedown, reversing its own 2020 climate law
H.J.Res. 38 — Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to "Phasedown of Hydrofluorocarbons: Management of Certain Hydrofluorocarbons and Substitutes Under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020". · Filed by Neal Dunn (R-FL) · 17 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 7, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This resolution disapproves an EPA rule that implements the phasedown of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)—potent greenhouse gases used in refrigeration and air conditioning—under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020. If passed, the rule would be nullified and have no legal effect, halting EPA enforcement of the HFC phasedown schedule and allowing continued production and use of these ozone-depleting and climate-damaging chemicals.
Why we flagged it
This is a Congressional Review Act (CRA) disapproval resolution targeting an EPA environmental rule. It uses the CRA's fast-track mechanism to nullify a regulation without substantive debate, effectively deregulating HFC production and use despite Congress having previously authorized the phasedown through the AIM Act.
What the text implies
- Disapproval reverses a congressionally mandated phasedown (AIM Act 2020), creating tension between two acts of Congress and potentially signaling willingness to override prior legislative commitments via CRA.
- HFC phasedown was part of international climate commitments (Kigali Amendment to Montreal Protocol); disapproval may complicate U.S. standing in global climate negotiations.
- Manufacturers of HFC alternatives (lower-GWP refrigerants) lose competitive advantage; incumbent HFC producers regain market share without transition pressure.
- Continued HFC use increases long-term climate costs borne by all citizens through warming-related damages, infrastructure adaptation, and health impacts—a diffuse, delayed cost externalized to the public.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Ordinary citizens bear the long-term climate and environmental costs of continued HFC emissions (a potent greenhouse gas contributing to global warming and ozone depletion), while manufacturers gain short-term production flexibility. The phasedown rule was implementing a law Congress itself passed (the AIM Act of 2020), so disapproval reverses a congressionally mandated environmental protection.
Who stands to gain
- HFC manufacturers and producers
- refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment makers using HFC-based systems
- chemical companies with existing HFC production capacity
Named in the bill
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020, Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), Congressional Review Act (Chapter 8, Title 5, U.S. Code), Kigali Amendment (Montreal Protocol), Rep. Neal Dunn (FL), Rep. Gus Bilirakis (FL), Rep. Max Miller (OH), Rep. Andrew Ogles (TN), Rep. Bruce Westerman (AR), Rep. Tom Messmer (IN)
Where it stands
17 cosponsors: 17 Republicans.
- Feb 7, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Feb 7, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
2 lobbying clients named this bill on 4 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $1,504,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 28 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 41% of bills with at least one filing.
Neal Dunn, the sponsor, reported $438,583 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Food Marketplace Inc — $1,384,000 on 2 filings
- H-e-b Grocery Company Lp — $120,000 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,482 characters) on May 21, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Congress moves to kill EPA's HFC phasedown, reversing its own 2020 climate law” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hjres38 Report an error
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