Congress moves to strip EPA power-plant emission limits
H.R. 1651 — To nullify the final rule issued by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to "New Source Performance Standards for Greenhouse Gas Emissions From New, Modified, and Reconstructed Fossil Fuel-Fired Electric Generating Units; Emission Guidelines for Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Existing Fossil Fuel-Fired Electric Generating Units; and Repeal of the Affordable Clean Energy Rule". · Filed by Troy Balderson (R-OH) · 37 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 27, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill nullifies an EPA rule issued in May 2024 that set greenhouse gas emission standards for new and existing coal and natural gas power plants, and repealed a prior Trump-era rule. The bill restores the ability of power plants to emit more greenhouse gases without federal limits, benefiting fossil fuel generators at the cost of air quality and climate protections for the public.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is to void a federal greenhouse gas emission rule, removing regulatory constraints on fossil fuel power plants. This is straightforward deregulation, not a complex policy trade-off.
What the text implies
- Voiding the rule also repeals the repeal of the Affordable Clean Energy Rule (ACE), effectively restoring ACE — a Trump-era rule that set weaker emission standards. The bill's title does not highlight this restoration of a prior deregulatory rule.
- Removal of federal GHG limits may shift regulatory authority back to states, but the bill does not explicitly address state-level authority or create alternative emission frameworks.
- Power plants avoiding compliance costs may reduce pressure for investment in cleaner generation technologies, slowing market transition to renewables.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Ordinary citizens lose federal protections against greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, increasing climate risk and air pollution exposure. The primary beneficiaries are fossil fuel generators and utilities, who avoid compliance costs and emission controls.
Who stands to gain
- fossil fuel power generators
- coal and natural gas utilities
- electric utilities with existing coal/gas fleets
Named in the bill
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), fossil fuel-fired electric generating units, coal power plants, natural gas power plants, Affordable Clean Energy Rule (ACE)
Where it stands
37 cosponsors: 37 Republicans.
- Feb 27, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Feb 27, 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
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $190,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 50 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 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Troy Balderson, the sponsor, reported $1,174,882 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- American Lung Association — $190,000 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 (1,829 characters) on Jun 3, 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.
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