FENCES Act

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Bill ID: 119/hr/6409
Last Updated: September 7, 2026

Sponsored by

Rep. Pfluger, August [R-TX-11]

ID: P000048

Follow the money

The bill

FENCES Act

HR. 6409, 119th Congress — read as touching Oil & Gas.

The sponsor

Rep. Pfluger, August [R-TX-11]

Every bill has someone who introduced it. That name is where the paper trail starts.

The money

$101,135 raised

23 itemised contributions to this sponsor, pulled from FEC filings.

The alignment

85% match to Project 2025

This bill's text tracks the "Environmental Protection Agency" section, p. 458-460 of the Mandate for Leadership.

Bill's Journey to Becoming a Law

Track this bill's progress through the legislative process

Latest Action

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

April 16, 2026

Introduced

Committee Review

Floor Action

Passed House

Senate Review

📍 Current Status

Next: Both chambers must agree on the same version of the bill.

🎉

Passed Congress

🖊️

Presidential Action

⚖️

Became Law

📚 How does a bill become a law?

1. Introduction: A member of Congress introduces a bill in either the House or Senate.

2. Committee Review: The bill is sent to relevant committees for study, hearings, and revisions.

3. Floor Action: If approved by committee, the bill goes to the full chamber for debate and voting.

4. Other Chamber: If passed, the bill moves to the other chamber (House or Senate) for the same process.

5. Conference: If both chambers pass different versions, a conference committee reconciles the differences.

6. Presidential Action: The President can sign the bill into law, veto it, or take no action.

7. Became Law: If signed (or if Congress overrides a veto), the bill becomes law!

Bill Summary

Another masterpiece of legislative theater, courtesy of the geniuses in Congress. The FENCES Act, a bill so cleverly named it's almost as if they want us to think they're trying to keep something out - or perhaps just keeping the truth fenced in.

Let's dissect this mess, shall we? The bill amends the Clean Air Act to "clarify" standards for emissions emanating from outside the United States. Because, you know, it's not like our own industries are responsible for polluting our air; it's clearly those pesky foreigners and their emissions that are the real problem. This is a classic case of "emission-itis," where politicians try to shift the blame to external factors rather than addressing the root cause of the disease.

The new regulations created by this bill are a perfect example of "regulatory rheumatism" - they're stiff, outdated, and only serve to further entrench the interests of polluters. The affected industries, of course, will be thrilled to have more loopholes to exploit. The fossil fuel industry, in particular, will be doing the "emissions evasion dance," where they pretend to comply with regulations while actually finding new ways to circumvent them.

Compliance requirements and timelines? Ha! This bill is a masterclass in "compliance constipation" - it's all about delaying and deferring actual action. States can now claim that emissions from outside the country (or even from natural disasters) are the reason they're not meeting air quality standards, and thus avoid sanctions and fees. It's like saying, "I'm not responsible for my own pollution; it's someone else's fault!" This is a textbook case of "polluter's paralysis," where industries use every excuse in the book to avoid taking responsibility for their actions.

The enforcement mechanisms and penalties? Don't make me laugh. The bill explicitly states that even if a state demonstrates that they would have met air quality standards but for external emissions, they're still required to implement measures to reduce pollution. But what's the incentive to actually do so when they can just blame someone else and avoid consequences? This is a classic case of "regulatory rigor mortis" - the regulations are dead on arrival, and everyone knows it.

The economic and operational impacts? Well, let's just say that this bill is a "gift" to polluters. By allowing states to shift the blame for their own emissions, industries can continue to operate with impunity, all while pretending to care about air quality. It's a win-win for them: they get to keep polluting and avoid paying fines. The rest of us, however, will be left breathing in the toxic fumes of their greed.

In conclusion, the FENCES Act is a farce, a sham, a travesty. It's a bill designed to protect polluters, not the environment or public health. So, to all the politicians and lobbyists involved in crafting this monstrosity

Related Topics

Climate Change & SustainabilityWater & Air Quality Regulations
Generated using Llama 3.1 70B (Dr. Haus personality)

💰 Campaign Finance Network

Rep. Pfluger, August [R-TX-11]

Congress 119 • 2024 Election Cycle

Total Contributions
$101,135
16 donors
PACs
$0
Organizations
$7,600
Committees
$0
Individuals
$93,535

No PAC contributions found

1
SYCUAN BAND OF THE KUMEYAAY NATION
2 transactions
$6,600
2
ALABAMA-COUSHATTA TRIBE
1 transaction
$1,000

No committee contributions found

1
WILSON, CELIA R
4 transactions
$22,400
2
PUDWILL, JAMES
2 transactions
$13,200
3
GELBMAN, JOEL
2 transactions
$13,200
4
DIMEMMO, COLETTE
1 transaction
$6,600
5
AUSTIN, RUTH
2 transactions
$6,600
6
WILSON, WORD B
1 transaction
$5,000
7
O'BRIEN, JAMES
1 transaction
$3,435
8
WIDENER, BROCK
1 transaction
$3,300
9
POOL, VALRIE S
1 transaction
$3,300
10
KAMON, KENNETH
1 transaction
$3,300
11
ZALIK, DAVID
1 transaction
$3,300
12
JENNINGS, MICHAEL
1 transaction
$3,300
13
WALKER, TODD
1 transaction
$3,300
14
HIDUKE, MARK
1 transaction
$3,300

Cosponsors & Their Campaign Finance

This bill has 2 cosponsors. Below are their top campaign contributors.

Rep. Crenshaw, Dan [R-TX-2]

ID: C001120

Top Contributors

26

1
CHEVRON
OrganizationSAN RAMON, CA
$5,000
Sep 4, 2024
2
COMPLETE EMERGENCY CARE HOLDING LLC
OrganizationSOUTHLAKE, TX
$3,500
Mar 11, 2024
3
SANDLIAN REALTY
OrganizationWICHITA, KS
$1,000
Feb 7, 2024
4
ALABAMA-COUSHATTA TRIBE
OrganizationLIVINGSTON, TX
$1,000
Sep 30, 2024
5
RUSSELL W H KRIDEL MD PA
OrganizationHOUSTON, TX
$250
Feb 28, 2023
6
JONES RANCH LLC
OrganizationCORPUS CHRISTI, TX
$250
Mar 13, 2024
7
MAFRIGE, DAVID
SELF • COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS
IndividualHOUSTON, TX
$9,900
Jun 21, 2023
8
MAFRIGE, DAVID
SELF • COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS
IndividualHOUSTON, TX
$9,900
Jun 21, 2023
9
ODEN, KEITH
CAMDEN PROPERTY TRUST • EXECUTIVE VICE CHAIRMAN
IndividualHOUSTON, TX
$9,900
Jun 27, 2023
10
ODEN, KEITH
CAMDEN PROPERTY TRUST • EXECUTIVE VICE CHAIRMAN
IndividualHOUSTON, TX
$9,900
Jun 27, 2023

Rep. Crank, Jeff [R-CO-5]

ID: C001137

Top Contributors

21

1
AK-CHIN INDIAN COMMUNITY
OrganizationMARICOPA, AZ
$1,000
Aug 27, 2024
2
FREYER, JOHN
LAND TITLE • INS
IndividualDENVER, CO
$6,600
Oct 8, 2024
3
BANCROFT, PAUL
BANCROFT INVESTMENTS • MANAGER
IndividualSCOTTSDALE, AZ
$6,600
Oct 14, 2024
4
MIENTKA, DANNY
THE EQUITY GROUP LLC • DEVELOPER
IndividualCOLORADO SPRINGS, CO
$6,600
Dec 23, 2024
5
BENSON, BRUCE D
RETIRED • RETIRED
IndividualDENVER, CO
$6,600
Mar 18, 2024
6
BENSON, MARCY
RETIRED • RETIRED
IndividualDENVER, CO
$6,600
Mar 18, 2024
7
JENKINS, CAROLYN SUE
HOMEMAKER • HOMEMAKER
IndividualMANITOU SPRINGS, CO
$6,600
Mar 11, 2024
8
JENKINS, DAVID D
NOR'WOOD FOUNDATION • CHAIRMAN
IndividualMANITOU SPRINGS, CO
$6,600
Mar 11, 2024
9
JEWELL, DAWN MICHELLE
IndividualFORT MYERS, FL
$6,600
Mar 29, 2024
10
JOHNSON, JAMES M
GE JOHNSON HOLDINGS • SELF-EMPLOYED
IndividualCOLORADO SPRINGS, CO
$6,600
Mar 11, 2024

Donor Network - Rep. Pfluger, August [R-TX-11]

PACs
Organizations
Individuals
Politicians

Hub layout: Politicians in center, donors arranged by type in rings around them.

Loading...

Showing 40 nodes and 54 connections

Total contributions: $54

Top Donors - Rep. Pfluger, August [R-TX-11]

Showing top 16 donors by contribution amount

2 Orgs14 Individuals

Industry Impact

Which industries are materially affected by specific provisions in this bill. 3 helped.

  • +Oil & Gasconfidence 0.90

    Section 2(c) adds a new section 179C that exempts states from sanctions/fees for nonattainment if emissions are from outside the U.S. or beyond state control, reducing regulatory burden on oil & gas operations that contribute to ozone/particulate pollution.

  • +Coal Miningconfidence 0.85

    Same as oil_gas: the exemption from sanctions/fees for ozone/particulate nonattainment due to foreign or uncontrollable emissions lessens compliance pressure on coal mining, a source of particulate matter.

  • +Electric Utilitiesconfidence 0.80

    Electric utilities, especially those relying on fossil fuels, face sanctions for ozone/particulate nonattainment; the bill's exemption reduces liability when emissions are deemed beyond state control.

Who funds the sponsor on these industries

For each industry this bill affects, here's what the sponsor (Rep. Pfluger, August [R-TX-11])received from donors associated with that industry during the 2022–present cycles. Donations are not proof of intent — they are a record of who funds the people writing the law.

Industries this bill HELPS

  • Oil & Gas$23,900
    from 40 contributions
    • DINGLER, WILLIAM$6,000
    • GORDER, JOE$2,900
    • SOMMERS, MICHAEL$2,500
    • RIGGS, R$1,500
    • FRASER, JASON$1,500
  • from 1 contribution
    • VIATOR, BRAD$500

Project 2025 Policy Matches

This bill shows semantic similarity to the following sections of the Project 2025 policy document.AI-enhanced analysis provides detailed alignment ratings.

Environmental Protection Agency

Strong
Vector: 64%
Pages: 458-460AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"The FENCES Act aligns with Project 2025's goal of limiting EPA overreach by allowing states to demonstrate that nonattainment is due to external emissions beyond their control, thereby reducing reliance on EPA's authority to impose sanctions and Federal Implementation Plans. It supports streamlining state demonstrations and curbing EPA's use of CAA authority to coerce state compliance."

Key themes:EPA authority limitsstate flexibility in NAAQS compliancereduction of federal overreachair permitting and attainment reformsexceptional events and external emissions

— 425 — Environmental Protection Agency are statutorily required, and remove any regulatory differences between attainment and maintenance that are not explicitly required by law. l Streamline the process for state and local governments to demonstrate that their federally funded highway projects will not interfere with NAAQS attainment. l Adopt policies to prevent abuse of EPA’s CAA “error correction” authority.20 EPA historically has used this to coerce states into adopting its favored policies on pain of imposition of a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP). l Limit EPA’s reliance on CAA § 30121 general rulemaking authority to ensure that it is not abused to issue regulations for which EPA lacks substantive authority elsewhere in the statute. l If possible, return the standard-setting role to Congress. Climate Change l Remove the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) for any source category that is not currently being regulated. The overall reporting program imposes significant burdens on small businesses and companies that are not being regulated. This is either a pointless burden or a sword-of- Damocles threat of future regulation, neither of which is appropriate. l Establish a system, with an appropriate deadline, to update the 2009 endangerment finding. l Establish a significant emissions rate (SER) for greenhouse gasses (GHGs). Regulating Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) Under the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act22 l Repeal Biden Administration implementing regulations for the AIM Act that are unnecessarily stringent and costly. l Refrain from granting petitions from opportunistic manufacturers to add new restrictions that further skew the market toward costlier refrigerants and equipment. — 426 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise l Conduct realistic cost assessments that reflect actual consumer experiences instead of the current unrealistic ones claiming that the program is virtually cost-free. Mobile Source Regulation by the Office of Transportation and Air Quality l Establish GHG car standards under Department of Transportation (DOT) leadership that properly consider cost, choice, safety, and national security. l Review the existing “ramp rate” for car standards to ensure that it is actually achievable. l Include life cycle emissions of electric vehicles and consider all of their environmental impacts. l Restore the position that California’s waiver applies only to California- specific issues like ground-level ozone, not global climate issues. l Ensure that other states can adopt California’s standards only for traditional/criteria pollutants, not greenhouse gases. l Stop the use of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to increase standards on airplanes. l Reconsider the Cleaner Trucks Initiative to balance the goal of driving down emissions without creating significant costs or complex burdens on the industry. Air Permitting Reforms for New Source Review (Pre-Construction Per- mits) and Title V (Operating Permits) l Develop reforms to ensure that when a facility improves efficiency within its production process, new permitting requirements are not triggered. l Restore the Trump EPA position on Once-In, Always-In (that major sources can convert to area sources when affiliated emissions standards are met). l Revisit permitting and enforcement assumptions that sources will operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year; this artificially inflates a source’s potential to emit (PTE), which can result in more stringent permit terms.

Department of Energy and Related Commissions

Moderate
Vector: 63%
Pages: 437-439AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"Both the FENCES Act and the Project 2025 energy policy emphasize state flexibility and limiting federal actions that could impose undue costs or subsidies, though they address different sectors (air quality vs. electricity transmission/gas pipelines)."

Key themes:state authorityregulatory flexibilitycost allocation/subsidy concernseconomic impact focusfederal-state balance

— 405 — Department of Energy and Related Commissions l End undue discrimination that allows subsidized resources to distort price formation in RTOs. l Affirm its commitment that states will decide whether to join an RTO instead of imposing RTOs on regions that do not want them. FERC should also consider allowing states to enter into non-RTO power pools with alternative structures for the sharing of resources and electric generation. FERC: ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION Mission/Overview Under the Federal Power Act, FERC has the authority to regulate the rates, terms, and conditions of interstate electric transmission. (Pursuant to court cases, interstate transmission can be entirely within a state, although the part of Texas served by ERCOT is not under FERC transmission jurisdiction.) Needed Reforms FERC has been considering how to plan for and allocate costs for new trans- mission lines and how new generation resources will be interconnected to the transmission grid. (Transmission expansion and replacement decisions are usu- ally made by local utilities or by an RTO or regional planning entity). Through two major rulemakings,118 FERC is attempting to facilitate the building of more long-range transmission lines and to socialize more of the costs of transmission buildouts to more customers in order to make it cheaper for renewable develop- ers (primarily) to interconnect to the grid and sell their power. Socializing such costs is a form of subsidy for generators and will cause further price distortions in RTOs and ISOs that will make it less economical for reliable, dispatchable resources like coal, nuclear, and natural gas to stay operational and support reliability.119 Also, under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, DOE and FERC are granted authority to site and permit high-priority transmission lines as National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (NIETCs). The Inflation Reduction Act provides funding to DOE to support transmission expansion.120 These initiatives will undermine state input and decision-making. FERC will consider rules on how NIETC transmission applications are to be made. New Policies FERC should either change course on its existing transmission rulemakings (if still in progress) or issue a new rulemaking to: — 406 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise l Ensure that transmission planning and interconnection processes are resource neutral. l Prevent socializing costs for customers who do not benefit from the projects or justifying such cost shifts as advancing vague “societal benefits” such as climate change. l Stop cost allocation from becoming a subsidy for generators, such as renewables. With respect to NIETCs, FERC and the new DESAS should ensure that state interests are respected and not allow such NEITC transmission lines to be devel- oped as a mere subsidy to renewable developers. Furthermore, much of the transmission buildout (including its attendant costs) is being driven by renewable developers seeking market share. These projects are causing rates for customers to go up and hurting reliability. FERC needs to ensure that transmission buildouts are planned for the benefit of customers. FERC: NATURAL GAS PIPELINES Mission/Overview FERC permits, sites, and authorizes the construction and operation of inter- state natural gas pipelines.121 It also regulates the rates for the shipping of natural gas122 (but not the price of the natural gas commodity, which is market based). FERC is charged with ensuring that natural gas pipelines are approved if they are required by the “public convenience and necessity.”123 Pipeline permitting is sub- ject to environmental reviews under NEPA, and the rate for the pipeline and the shipping of the commodity is set by FERC under a just and reasonable standard. Once FERC approves a project, the holder of the certificate has the sovereign’s power of eminent domain. Needed Reforms Natural gas pipelines are vital for the economy, manufacturing, heating, and electric generation. Opposition from “Keep it in the ground” environmentalists has made it harder to gain approvals for natural gas pipelines. Under Democrat leadership, FERC has proposed official policies to consider upstream and down- stream GHG emissions from the use of the natural gas that would be shipped in the pipeline to be part of FERC’s public-interest determination when deciding whether to approve a pipeline. There is conflicting direction from the D.C. Circuit on the GHG issue, which also could be seen as a “major questions” issue under the U.S. Supreme Court’s West Virginia v. EPA decision.124

Department of Transportation

Moderate
Vector: 62%
Pages: 658-660AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"Both the FENCES Act and the Project 2025 DOT section critique EPA overreach under the Clean Air Act and seek to limit federal emissions regulations that affect states and industry, though the bill focuses on nonattainment designations while the Project 2025 text centers on fuel economy standards."

Key themes:Clean Air ActEPA authoritystate flexibilityemissions regulationreducing federal regulatory burden

— 626 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise environment. They need to account for rapidly moving and out-of-line-of-sight vehicles as well as pedestrians, bicyclists, and other road users. They should account for the potential for radio interference, and they should address security. This is why in 1999, in response to a request from Congress, the Federal Com- munications Commission allocated the 5.9 GHz band of spectrum to traffic safety and intelligent transportation systems (ITS). In 2020, the FCC took away 45 MHz of the 75 MHz it had added, leaving only 30 MHz for transportation safety and ITS. DOT needs to represent the transportation community and make the case for needed spectrum to the public and Congress. CORPORATE AVERAGE FUEL ECONOMY (CAFE) STANDARDS One reason for the high numbers of injuries on American roadways is that national fuel economy standards raise the price of cars, disincentivizing people from purchasing newer, safer vehicles. Congress requires the Secretary of Transportation to set national fuel econ- omy standards for new motor vehicles sold in the United States. This mandate was established in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA),6 a law passed in the wake of the Arab oil embargo to promote greater energy efficiency and lessen the national security threat of U.S. dependence on foreign oil. The stat- ute directs DOT to prescribe the “maximum feasible” mileage requirements for different categories of internal-combustion engine (ICE) automobiles for each model year. The standards must be achievable using available ICE technologies running on gasoline, diesel fuel, or similar combustible fuels and must not be set so high as to prevent automakers from profitably producing new vehicles at sufficient volume to meet consumer demand. Congress recognized that the ICE-powered automobile has been instrumen- tal to advancing the mobility and prosperity of the American people and that the domestic mass production of new ICE vehicles generates millions of jobs and remains critical to the overall health of the U.S. economy and the strength of the nation’s industrial base. Accordingly, Congress took care to ensure that the mileage requirements issued by DOT would not undermine the vitality of America’s auto industry or interfere with the market economics that drives consumer demand for new vehicles. This rulemaking authority, which has been delegated by the Secretary to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is exclusive to DOT. EPCA expressly preempts states from adopting or enforcing any different requirement “related to fuel economy standards” for new motor vehicles. While the statute instructs DOT to consult with the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in formulating its standards, no other federal agency, including EPA, has clear authority to set fuel economy requirements in place of NHTSA. The Clean Air Act7 gives EPA general authority to establish emissions — 627 — Department of Transportation limits for new motor vehicles for air pollutants that are found to pose a danger to humans. However, there is no reason to believe Congress ever contemplated that EPA’s authority to address automotive air pollution might be used to displace or supersede NHTSA’s fuel economy mandate under EPCA. Congress chose to assign the power to set fuel economy standards to DOT rather than EPA. This was not only because DOT understands the technologies and economics of the auto industry, but also because NHTSA is the nation’s leading motor vehicle safety regulator, and Congress sought to ensure that fuel economy requirements would not adversely affect highway safety. Unfortunately, the Biden Administration has flouted these statutory limitations in nearly every respect. The predictable result is higher expected transportation costs for Americans. l In pursuit of an anti–fossil fuel climate agenda never approved by Congress, the Biden Administration has raised fuel economy requirements to levels that cannot realistically be met by most categories of ICE vehicles. The purpose is to force the auto industry to transition away from traditional technologies to the production of electric vehicles (EVs) and compel Americans to accept costly EVs despite a clear and persistent consumer preference for ICE-powered vehicles. In further support of this agenda, federal regulators administer a scheme of generous fuel economy credits that subsidize EV producers such as Tesla at the expense of legacy automakers. l Moreover, and contrary to Congress’s design, the Biden EPA has been given preeminence in the regulation of fuel economy through the setting of carbon dioxide emissions limits for new motor vehicles under the Clean Air Act. Because carbon dioxide emissions levels correspond to mileage in automobiles powered by fossil fuels, these EPA rules are de facto fuel economy requirements that apply independently of NHTSA’s standards. l The Biden Administration has also granted California a special waiver under the Clean Air Act that permits the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to issue its own fuel economy directives, notwithstanding EPCA’s prohibition on state standards. Under this waiver, CARB has ordered automakers to phase out the sale of ICE-powered automobiles in California and transition to the production of zero-emission vehicles by 2035. The Clean Air Act allows other states to follow California’s requirements; thus, CARB is effectively determining fuel economy policies for the entire nation. As a result of these regulatory actions, automobiles will be significantly more expensive to produce, there will be fewer affordable new vehicle options for Amer- ican families, and fewer new vehicles will be sold in the U.S. That will do more than

Showing 3 of 5 policy matches

About These Correlations

Policy matches are calculated using a hybrid approach: initial candidates are found using semantic similarity between bill summaries and Project 2025 policy text, then an AI model (Llama 3.1 70B) provides detailed alignment ratings and analysis. Ratings range from 1 (minimal alignment) to 5 (very strong alignment). This analysis does not imply direct causation or intent.

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