Title: Stopping EPA Overreach Act of 2017
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
Stopping EPA Overreach Act of 2017
This bill amends the Clean Air Act to exclude carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride pollution from the scope of that Act.
The bill declares that current law does not authorize or require the regulation of climate change or global warming and nullifies certain final rules relating to: (1) greenhouse gas and volatile organic compounds emissions, including methane emissions, from the oil and natural gas sector; and (2) carbon pollution emissions from the utility power sector.
Before proposing or finalizing regulations or policies, the Environmental Protection Agency must analyze the net and gross impact of those regulations and policies on employment. Regulations and policies may not take effect if they have a negative impact on employment, unless they are approved by Congress and signed by the President.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 637 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 637

   To prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from exceeding its 
statutory authority in ways that were not contemplated by the Congress.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 24, 2017

 Mr. Palmer (for himself, Mr. Mooney of West Virginia, Mr. Biggs, Mr. 
  Harris, Mrs. Wagner, Mr. Farenthold, Mr. Gibbs, Mr. Goodlatte, Mr. 
Latta, Mr. Wenstrup, Mr. Byrne, Mr. Guthrie, Mr. Babin, Mr. Westerman, 
 Mr. Fleischmann, Mr. Webster of Florida, Mr. Brat, Mr. McKinley, Mr. 
    Rouzer, Mr. Schweikert, Mr. Valadao, Mr. Nunes, Mrs. Black, Mr. 
   LaMalfa, Mr. Lamborn, Mr. Carter of Georgia, Mr. Jenkins of West 
 Virginia, Mr. Lucas, Mr. Grothman, Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
   Bergman, Mr. Chaffetz, Mr. Smith of Missouri, Mr. Hensarling, Mr. 
Duncan of South Carolina, Mr. Banks of Indiana, Mr. Jordan, Mr. Jody B. 
 Hice of Georgia, Mr. Barton, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. Carter 
  of Texas, Mr. Culberson, Mr. Ratcliffe, Mr. Amash, Mr. Rothfus, Mr. 
  Buck, Mr. Marchant, Mr. Brady of Texas, Mr. Cramer, Mrs. Noem, Mr. 
Smith of Texas, Ms. Cheney, Mr. Barletta, Mr. Gohmert, Mr. Messer, Mr. 
Meadows, Mr. Sanford, Mr. Walker, Mr. Mullin, Mrs. Roby, Mr. Bishop of 
 Michigan, Mr. Kelly of Pennsylvania, Mr. Rogers of Alabama, Mrs. Mimi 
Walters of California, Mr. Brooks of Alabama, Mr. Gosar, Mr. Olson, Mr. 
Sessions, Mr. Abraham, Mr. Hultgren, Mr. Weber of Texas, Mr. Labrador, 
Mr. Allen, Mr. Crawford, Mr. Aderholt, Mr. Pittenger, Mr. Marshall, Mr. 
Williams, Mr. Sam Johnson of Texas, Mr. Perry, Mr. Tipton, Mr. Chabot, 
Mr. King of Iowa, Mr. Pearce, Mr. Scalise, Mr. Poe of Texas, Mr. Yoho, 
 Mr. Massie, Mr. Rokita, Mr. Cole, Mr. Garrett, Mr. Marino, Mr. Thomas 
J. Rooney of Florida, Mr. Franks of Arizona, Mrs. Hartzler, Mr. Jones, 
and Mr. Davidson) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees 
     on Natural Resources, Transportation and Infrastructure, and 
Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from exceeding its 
statutory authority in ways that were not contemplated by the Congress.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Stopping EPA Overreach Act of 
2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the Environmental Protection Agency has exceeded its 
        statutory authority by promulgating regulations that were not 
        contemplated by Congress in the authorizing language of the 
        statutes enacted by Congress;
            (2) the Environmental Protection Agency was correct not to 
        classify greenhouse gases as pollutants prior to 2009;
            (3) no Federal agency has the authority to regulate 
        greenhouse gases under current law; and
            (4) no attempt to regulate greenhouse gases should be 
        undertaken without further Congressional action.

SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF FEDERAL REGULATORY AUTHORITY TO EXCLUDE 
              GREENHOUSE GASES FROM REGULATION UNDER THE CLEAN AIR ACT.

    (a) Repeal of Federal Climate Change Regulation.--
            (1) Greenhouse gas regulation under clean air act.--Section 
        302(g) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7602(g)) is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``(g) The term'' and inserting the 
                following:
    ``(g) Air Pollutant.--
            ``(1) In general.--The term''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Exclusion.--The term `air pollutant' does not include 
        carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, 
        hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, or sulfur 
        hexafluoride.''.
            (2) No regulation of climate change.--Notwithstanding any 
        other provision of law, nothing in any of the following Acts or 
        any other law authorizes or requires the regulation of climate 
        change or global warming:
                    (A) The Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.).
                    (B) The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 
                U.S.C. 1251 et seq.).
                    (C) The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
                (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
                    (D) The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
                1531 et seq.).
                    (E) The Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et 
                seq.).
    (b) Effect on Final Rules of the EPA.--In accordance with this 
section, the following final rules (or any similar or successor rules) 
of the Environmental Protection Agency shall be void and have no force 
or effect:
            (1) The final rule entitled ``Oil and Natural Gas Sector: 
        Emission Standards for New, Reconstructed, and Modified 
        Sources'' (published at 81 Fed. Reg. 35823 (June 3, 2016)).
            (2) The final rule entitled ``Carbon Pollution Emission 
        Guidelines for Existing Stationary Sources: Electric Utility 
        Generating Units'' (published at 80 Fed. Reg. 64661 (October 
        23, 2015)).

SEC. 4. JOBS ANALYSIS FOR ALL EPA REGULATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Before proposing or finalizing any regulation, 
rule, or policy, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency shall provide an analysis of the regulation, rule, or policy and 
describe the direct and indirect net and gross impact of the 
regulation, rule, or policy on employment in the United States.
    (b) Limitation.--No regulation, rule, or policy described in 
subsection (a) shall take effect if the regulation, rule, or policy has 
a negative impact on employment in the United States unless the 
regulation, rule, or policy is approved by Congress and signed by the 
President.
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