# H.R. 6409 (119th): Foreign Emissions and Nonattainment Clarification for Economic Stability Act or the FENCES Act

Foreign Emissions and Nonattainment Clarification for Economic Stability Act or the FENCES Act This bill modifies standards under the Clean Air Act to exempt states from penalties for emissions outside of the state’s control. The bill provides that certain nonattainment areas (i.e., those classified as severe or extreme for ozone or as serious for particulate matter) are not subject to sanctions for implementation plan deficiencies or for fees for failing to attain national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) if the state demonstrates it would have avoided deficiencies or attained its standards but for emissions outside of its control (e.g., emissions from an exceptional event like a wildfire). A state must renew its demonstration at least once every five years for exemption from the sanctions or fees to continue to apply. The bill specifies that an area within a state may not be designated as a nonattainment area regarding any new or revised NAAQS for a pollutant if the state demonstrates it would be in attainment but for emissions emanating from outside of the country, regardless of whether the emissions resulted from human activity. For purposes of approving a state implementation plan or meeting certain NAAQS, current law provides that a state may demonstrate to the Environmental Protection Agency that but for emissions emanating from outside of the country, it would have attained applicable NAAQS by the attainment date for certain pollutants. The bill specifies that such emissions emanating from outside the country may include emissions that result from human activity.

## How this bill is scored

Tier: no Tier 1 record. A bill with no record cannot newly become Tier 1.
Lane: air_quality. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: environment. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: federalism. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: regulatory_compliance. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Tier 1 sign-off: no record. A bill with no record cannot newly become Tier 1.
Stored polarity: mixed. Only tags the rules mark scoreable on a mixed bill are scored. A yea can draw a penalty or a credit according to the tag. A nay on a tag scored as good can draw a penalty.
Roll 115: On Motion to Recommit. Vote type: recommit.
Roll 116: On Passage. Vote type: final_passage.
Polarity rationale: Reviewed enrichment (llm_import) polarity: The bill is an ordinary environmental regulatory measure. It relieves states of certain sanctions and fees where a demonstrated cause lies outside their control, which is a prudential fairness and administrability question. It does not directly advance a named moral harm or directly defend justice against one, and it carries real concerns about weakening air-quality accountability for affected residents.
Theological note: This bill touches stewardship of creation and the neighbor's right to clean air, since it changes how responsibility for air quality is assigned between states and sources. It also raises questions of honest accountability, because it excuses some nonattainment consequences based on causes outside a state's control. These are relevant considerations for prudential judgment, not a final moral verdict on the bill.

## Recorded votes

Roll 115: On Motion to Recommit. Yea 213 · Nay 215 · Other 3.
Roll 116: On Passage. Yea 220 · Nay 208 · Other 3.

HTML: https://justmeasure.org/bill/hr-6409-119/