Foreign Emissions and Nonattainment Clarification for Economic Stability Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. VALADAO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge support for the FENCES Act, a commonsense bill that brings fairness and clarity to how we evaluate air quality in the United States.

In California, our communities are already working hard to meet some of the most stringent environmental standards in the country. Yet, too often, they are penalized for factors completely outside of their control, like pollution or wildfire smoke that comes from outside our borders.

The FENCES Act clarifies that emissions coming from other countries, whether caused by human activity or natural events, cannot be used to determine whether a State is meeting Federal air quality standards. The bill also strengthens existing law under the Clean Air Act by allowing States to account for foreign emissions earlier in the process rather than waiting until final stages of their State implementation plans. For California, wherein nonattainment designations can have serious economic consequences, reliability is important.

Right now, businesses across Central Valley and across our State face significant permitting delays and regulatory uncertainty. I hear from small businesses all the time who want to invest and hire in our region, but they are stuck navigating a system that doesn't reflect today's global realities.

In some cases, these challenges actually push investment overseas to countries with much weaker environmental standards, which ultimately undermines the very goal that we are trying to achieve here in the United States. I think we can all agree that we want our communities to be healthy while also providing opportunities for economic investment.

The FENCES Act helps to provide a level playing field by providing regulatory clarity, streamlining the permitting process, and giving States like California a fair shot at compliance, while still maintaining our commitment to clean air.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, which strikes the balance between reasonable environmental standards and allowing industry to invest in America to help build our economy and create jobs.

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