EPA gets 18 months to regulate lithium-ion battery recycling—closing a gap in environmental law.
H.R. 9615 — BRACE Act · Filed by Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) · 3 cosponsors · Introduced Jul 9, 2026 · Passed chamber
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
The BRACE Act directs the EPA to establish new federal rules for recycling lithium-ion batteries within 18 months, treating them as 'universal waste' under environmental law. Until those rules are finalized, battery storage facilities must follow interim safety and handling standards. The bill also updates a 1995 battery law to reference current EPA regulations instead of outdated rules.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to mandate EPA rulemaking on lithium-ion battery recycling and establish interim safety standards. It is a regulatory modernization measure, not a subsidy, tax provision, or deregulation—it closes a gap in environmental oversight.
What the text implies
- The 18-month rulemaking deadline may be tight given the technical complexity of lithium-ion battery chemistry, fire risk, and critical mineral recovery—delays could leave interim rules in place longer than intended.
- The bill references CFR sections by number without restating them, making the interim requirements opaque to non-specialists; citizens cannot easily verify what 'sections 273.33(a)(1), 273.35, 273.36, 273.37' actually require without consulting the Code of Federal Regulations.
- The rule must 'consider including' additional safety requirements and critical mineral recovery standards, but the language is permissive ('consider'), not mandatory—the final rule may weaken protections if EPA faces industry pressure.
- Destination facilities storing batteries for recycling gain clarity on compliance, but the interim requirements may impose compliance costs that smaller recyclers cannot absorb, potentially consolidating the recycling market among larger operators.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill establishes a clear regulatory pathway for safe lithium-ion battery recycling, addressing a gap in current environmental law. Citizens benefit from standardized safety requirements, environmental protections during battery storage and processing, and recovery of critical minerals needed for domestic manufacturing—reducing dependence on foreign supply chains.
Who stands to gain
- battery recycling companies
- critical mineral recovery firms
- lithium-ion battery manufacturers (via domestic supply chain security)
- destination facilities handling universal waste
Named in the bill
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), lithium-ion battery industry, battery recycling sector, destination facilities, large quantity handlers of universal waste, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 40 Part 273, Mercury-Containing and Rechargeable Battery Management Act
Where it stands
3 cosponsors: 2 Democrats, 1 Republicans.
- Jul 9, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jul 9, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce and Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works · 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”
- Sep 14, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 717”
- Sep 15, 2026 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote”
- Sep 15, 2026 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Guthrie moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended”
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 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $660,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 66 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.
Mariannette Miller-Meeks, the sponsor, reported $2,407,952 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Americans for Prosperity — $660,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 16, 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 (3,527 characters) on Aug 12, 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 Jun 2026 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 16, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
“EPA gets 18 months to regulate lithium-ion battery recycling—closing a gap in environmental law.” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr9615 Report an error
The week in bills
One email, Sunday: what Congress passed, what it changed, and who paid.
One link arrives to confirm the address. It is used for this email and nothing else, and every issue carries an unsubscribe link.