Rep. Dan Newhouse

Maddy summaryHR 4038, the POPP Act, blocks the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from finalizing, implementing, or enforcing a specific proposed rule about greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. This rule, published in May 2023, aimed to set new standards for emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants and replace an earlier rule. The bill prohibits the EPA from moving forward with this rule or any substantially similar rule, directly affecting the EPA's regulatory authority and power plant operators who would have been subject to the proposed standards. The bill bases this prohibition on arguments that the proposed rule violates the Clean Air Act by not demonstrating that required emission reduction technologies are commercially viable and cost-effective.

Maddy summaryHR 1640, the Save Our Gas Stoves Act, prevents the Department of Energy from implementing energy efficiency standards for gas stoves that would make them unavailable in the U.S. market. It amends federal law to require that any new standard for gas stoves must not result in the unavailability of gas stove types, directly affecting gas stove manufacturers and consumers who rely on these appliances. The bill specifically blocks the implementation of the 2023 proposed rule (Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Consumer Conventional Cooking Products) and any similar rule. This is a policy change focused on maintaining the availability of gas stoves by altering the criteria for energy standard approval.

This bill includes phosphate and potash on the Department of the Interior's final list of critical minerals. (Under current law, Interior and other departments are required to conduct a variety of efforts to ensure a secure and reliable supply chain of critical minerals.) Interior must evaluate current policies relating to permitting and leasing of projects to develop critical minerals and issue recommendations to Congress to support domestic production of such commodities.

Maddy summaryThe Telehealth Expansion Act of 2023 modifies the Internal Revenue Code to require health insurance plans to cover telehealth services without applying deductibles. It directly affects high deductible health plans (HDHPs) and their enrollees, ensuring telehealth visits aren’t counted toward annual deductibles. The key provision creates a "safe harbor" (Section 223(c)(2)(E)) so plans won’t lose HDHP status for excluding telehealth deductibles. This change applies immediately upon enactment and affects all plans offering telehealth services. It does not create new funding or services but adjusts tax code requirements for existing coverage.

Maddy summaryThis resolution designates May 5, 2023, as the "National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls" to honor victims and support families. It asks the public to commemorate affected individuals and demonstrates solidarity with impacted communities. The bill also recommends the Justice Department commission a new study to update statistics on violence against Indigenous women, referencing the 2016 DOJ study that found 84.3% experienced violence in their lifetime. This symbolic measure aims to raise awareness and encourage federal action, without changing laws or allocating new funding.

This bill expands the definition of critical mineral under the Energy Act of 2020 to include copper. Thus, this bill requires the Department of Energy and other agencies to conduct a variety of efforts to ensure a secure and reliable supply chain of copper.

Maddy summaryHR 3818 blocks the U.S. Department of Energy from finalizing a proposed rule that would set strict energy efficiency standards for gas stoves. Specifically, it prohibits the Secretary of Energy from implementing a rule requiring gas stove tops to consume no more than 1,204 British thermal units annually - a standard that would have excluded 96% of existing gas stoves. This bill directly affects gas stove manufacturers (by preventing sales restrictions) and consumers (by preserving current product choices). The legislation halts the regulatory process for this specific rule without creating new energy standards or altering existing appliance requirements.

Maddy summaryHJRES 46 is a congressional resolution rejecting a specific rule issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) under federal environmental regulations. The resolution seeks to block the NMFS rule (published June 2022) that updated procedures for listing endangered/threatened species and designating critical habitats. If passed, this resolution would make the NMFS rule legally ineffective under federal law. The bill directly affects how the NMFS manages species protection programs but does not change the underlying environmental laws. This is a procedural disapproval resolution, not a new policy.

Maddy summaryHJRES 49 is a congressional disapproval resolution targeting a specific rule by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that would have listed the northern long-eared bat as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. The rule, published in the Federal Register in November 2022 (87 Fed. Reg. 73488), would have imposed federal protections and restrictions on activities affecting the bat's habitat. This resolution, if passed, would nullify that rule, preventing the bat from receiving federal endangered species status and associated legal safeguards. It directly affects the regulatory status of the northern long-eared bat and activities regulated under the Endangered Species Act.

Maddy summaryHJRES 29 is a procedural resolution seeking congressional disapproval of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) rule that designated the northern lesser prairie-chicken population as "threatened" and the southern population as "endangered" under the Endangered Species Act. If passed, this resolution would prevent the FWS rule from taking effect, meaning the southern population would not be officially listed as endangered and the northern population would not be listed as threatened. The bill directly affects landowners, ranchers, and developers in states like Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico where the prairie-chicken habitat overlaps with agricultural or energy development. It uses the Congressional Review Act (Chapter 8 of Title 5, U.S. Code) to block implementation of the FWS rule without changing wildlife protection laws.