Congress strips states of power to limit locomotive pollution
H.R. 3194 — LOCOMOTIVES Act · Filed by John Moolenaar (R-MI) · 27 cosponsors · Introduced May 5, 2025 · Markup held
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What it does
This bill amends the Clean Air Act to prohibit states from setting their own emissions standards for existing locomotives and railroad engines. Currently, Section 209(e) of the Clean Air Act allows states to regulate certain nonroad engines; this bill narrows that exception by carving out locomotives and engines used in locomotives from state regulatory authority, leaving only federal EPA standards to apply.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a federal preemption of state environmental authority over a specific industry (railroads). It removes locomotives from the state-standard exception in the Clean Air Act, effectively shielding the rail industry from state-level emissions regulation while preserving federal-only oversight.
What the text implies
- States cannot use their traditional police power to protect local air quality from locomotive emissions, even in nonattainment areas or communities with high respiratory disease burden.
- The bill's definition of 'engaged in commerce' references 49 U.S.C. § 10102 (common carrier railroad transportation for compensation), which may be narrower or broader than the actual universe of locomotives affected — the bill's effect depends on how that statute defines the category.
- Existing state locomotive emissions rules (if any) would be preempted; states cannot maintain or strengthen current standards.
- The carve-out applies only to 'existing' locomotives (not new ones), but the bill does not define 'existing' — this may create ambiguity about retrofit or remanufactured engines.
- Federal EPA standards for locomotive emissions are typically less stringent than state standards in high-pollution states; this bill locks in the federal floor as a ceiling for state action.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Citizens in states with stricter air-quality standards lose the ability to regulate locomotive emissions within their borders, ceding that authority exclusively to federal EPA standards. This prevents states from addressing local air pollution from rail traffic and eliminates a tool for protecting public health in communities near rail corridors.
Who stands to gain
- Class I and regional railroads (reduced compliance costs from avoiding state-specific emissions stan
- Locomotive manufacturers (simplified regulatory landscape, no need to meet varying state standards)
Named in the bill
EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), State environmental agencies, Class I railroads (BNSF, CSX, Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific), Locomotive manufacturers (Wabtec, Progress Rail, Electro-Motive Diesel), Clean Air Act Section 209(e), 49 U.S.C. § 10102
Where it stands
27 cosponsors: 27 Republicans.
- May 5, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- May 5, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce”
- Jul 14, 2026 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
7 lobbying clients named this bill on 9 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $4,157,605 in lobbying spend. A filing names 52 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 86% of bills with at least one filing.
John Moolenaar, the sponsor, reported $595,100 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Union Pacific Corporation — $1,770,000 on 2 filings
- Bnsf Railway Company — $960,000 on 1 filing
- Americans for Prosperity — $660,000 on 1 filing
- Earthjustice Action — $376,600 on 2 filings
- Csx Corporation — $251,005 on 1 filing
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 (1,358 characters) on Jul 20, 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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