Representative Palmer urges Congress to advance three permitting-reform bills to ease Clean Air Act compliance

Representative Palmer testified before the House Rules Committee in support of three congressional bills — H.R. 6409, H.R. 6398 and H.R. 6387 — that he said would streamline permitting under the Clean Air Act and reduce regulatory burdens on states and manufacturers.

Palmer told committee leaders and members that H.R. 6409 (cited by number in the testimony) "ensures that states and local communities are not penalized for foreign air emissions emanating outside the United States," singling out natural events such as Canadian wildfires as examples. He said prior EPA guidance under the previous administration narrowed relief to only human-caused foreign emissions and that the bill would "clarify that all foreign emissions, whether natural or manmade, are excluded from consideration when determining whether a state meets national air quality standards." Palmer added the measure would allow states to account for foreign emissions earlier in the regulatory process, reducing the risk of costly delays and federal sanctions.

On H.R. 6398 — referred to in the testimony as the "Red Tape Act" — Palmer said the bill would eliminate what he described as a duplicative requirement in the Clean Air Act that directs the EPA to assess and provide feedback on environmental impact statements other federal agencies prepare under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). "An agency preparing an environmental impact statement under NEPA already possesses the expertise and resources necessary to assess the environmental impacts," Palmer said, arguing that Section 309 secondary review can be unnecessary, inefficient and a source of delay and expense in the NEPA process.

Palmer also discussed H.R. 6387, identified in the testimony as the "Fire Act," saying it would amend the Clean Air Act to ensure states are not penalized for wildfire mitigation measures such as prescribed burns and brush clearing. "Prescribed burns or controlled burns are the most effective way to decrease both the severity of wildfires and the public health problems associated with the smoke they produce," he said, and argued the bill would provide clarity and predictability for air-quality planning while reducing regulatory burdens on manufacturers and communities.

Palmer framed all three bills as part of broader permitting-reform efforts that he said are necessary to update an "overdue" Clean Air Act, remove barriers to domestic manufacturing and energy production, and lower costs for Americans. The testimony recorded no committee vote or formal action on the bills in the provided transcript; Palmer closed by urging colleagues to join him in supporting the measures.

The transcript does not record debate by other members, committee votes, or further procedural steps. Titles for the bills are presented as they were cited in the testimony; the transcript contains a wording ambiguity for the title associated with H.R. 6409, which is cited by number in the testimony but not consistently named in the provided text.