Gary Palmer

This joint resolution would overturn an Environmental Protection Agency rule that granted California a waiver to set its own vehicle emission standards for greenhouse gases starting with the 2009 model year. Under the Clean Air Act, California has special authority to establish pollution standards stricter than federal requirements, and this 2009 EPA decision approved California's use of that authority for greenhouse gas emissions from new cars. If passed, this resolution would eliminate that waiver and prevent California from enforcing its own greenhouse gas standards, effectively returning the state to following federal emission rules. The resolution uses the congressional disapproval process, which allows Congress to overturn federal agency rules under a streamlined procedure. This bill directly affects California's ability to regulate vehicle emissions and would impact automakers that sell vehicles in the state, as well as consumers in California and other states that have adopted similar emission standards.

Coordinating and Harnessing America’s Recovery of Minerals Act or the CHARM ActThis bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish and carry out a national strategy for recovering critical minerals from discarded materials. Critical minerals are defined as any mineral, element, substance, or material designated as critical by the U.S. Geological Survey because it is essential to U.S. economic or national security, has a vulnerable supply chain, and serves an essential function in manufacturing a product.The EPA must report to Congress every two years on its actions, plans, and recommendations relating to the national strategy.

Zeroing Out Monetary Benefits Improperly Expended Act or the ZOMBIE ActThis bill focuses requirements governing the assessment, tracking, and reporting of improper payments made by federal agencies on improper payments that result in financial loss to the government.The bill defines financial loss to the government as any payment (or part of a payment) in excess of the correct amount that results in a financial loss to the government, but excludes any payment (or part of a payment) that is made to the correct recipient for the correct amount but fails to meet administrative procedures (other than those required to verify the validity of the payment).The bill requires agencies to assess programs and activities every three years for the risk of improper payments resulting in financial loss to the government. The bill also generally modifies other reporting requirements to focus on such improper payments, including by expanding reporting requirements to include information about actions taken by agencies to prevent such payments (e.g., use of the Do Not Pay system) and to implement certain best practices.The bill alsorequires an estimate of such improper payments in agencies’ annual budget justification,requires the Department of the Treasury to develop risk assessment guidance, andallows up to 75% of funds that are recovered through audits to be directed back to the original program or activity (currently, up to 25% of such funds may be directed back to the original program or activity).

The Settlement Agreement Information Database Act of 2026 requires federal agencies to create and maintain public online databases listing major settlement agreements they enter into. The law applies to settlements worth at least $10 million, those involving government entities as parties, or those with appointed monitors—while excluding personnel disputes, tax matters, and criminal plea deals. Agencies must post information including settlement dates, amounts owed, penalties, statutory violations alleged, and copies of the agreements themselves, with certain exemptions for confidential information protected by court order or federal disclosure laws. The Office of Management and Budget must issue implementation guidance within one year, and agencies have two years from enactment to establish their databases and publish at least annual updates. Agencies must also report annually to Congress on settlements they withhold from public disclosure and their reasons, promoting transparency about how the federal government resolves major legal disputes.

This bill would give the President authority to waive air pollution requirements for semiconductor manufacturing facilities and critical mineral processing plants when deemed necessary for national security. The legislation amends the Clean Air Act to allow the President to exempt these facilities from having to offset their increased air emissions, a requirement that currently applies to major industrial sources in areas that don't meet federal air quality standards. The bill also creates an alternative compliance system where these facilities could pay fees up to 1.5 times the average cost of pollution control measures in their area instead of finding direct emission offsets, with the fees used by state authorities to reduce emissions elsewhere in the region. The measure specifically targets facilities that manufacture semiconductors or process critical minerals as designated by the Interior Department. No specific funding amounts or implementation timelines are included in the legislation.

The Citizen Ballot Protection Act would modify federal voter registration rules to allow states to require mail-in voter registration applicants to provide proof of U.S. citizenship. Currently, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 restricts what states can require on mail registration forms, but this bill would create an exception permitting states to add citizenship verification as part of their registration process. The legislation would affect any state choosing to implement such a requirement and would apply to voters registering by mail for federal elections. The bill takes effect immediately upon enactment with no separate funding provisions specified. The bill was introduced in November 2025 and referred to the House Committee on Administration for review.

H.R. 4609 extends the federal government's authority to use the Defense Production Act of 1950, a law that allows the President to direct private companies to prioritize production of materials deemed essential for national defense and security. The bill simply changes the expiration date of this authority from September 30, 2025, to September 30, 2031, giving the government an additional six years to invoke these powers if needed. The Defense Production Act affects manufacturers across various industries who may be required to prioritize government contracts or shift production to support defense-related needs. The bill does not authorize new spending or create new programs—it merely extends an existing legal authority that has been used in the past for purposes ranging from military production to pandemic-related supply chain management.

This bill converts five previous executive orders about critical minerals into permanent federal law. The orders cover strategies to secure reliable supplies of critical minerals, reduce dependence on foreign adversaries for these materials, support domestic mining and processing industries, and increase American mineral production for national security and economic resilience. The affected parties include domestic mining companies, mineral processors, federal agencies responsible for energy and natural resources, and defense and manufacturing industries that rely on critical minerals. The bill requires no new specific funding allocations but instead formalizes existing executive policies that were previously subject to change by future administrations. By codifying these orders into law, Congress makes the policies permanent and binding unless repealed by new legislation.

The ALERT Act requires federal agencies to submit detailed monthly reports to the White House's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs about upcoming rules, including their costs, economic impacts, and scientific basis. This information must be published online within 30 days and compiled into annual Federal Register reports, giving the public and Congress greater visibility into the regulatory pipeline. The bill also prevents most new rules from taking effect until their information has been publicly available for at least six months, though emergency rules involving health, safety, national security, or criminal enforcement are exempt. Agencies must begin submitting these monthly reports within 30 days of enactment, with the six-month waiting period requirement kicking in eight months later, creating a more transparent and deliberate process for federal rulemaking.

Retirement Freedom ActThis bill allows an individual to opt out of Medicare hospital services benefits without also having to opt out of Social Security benefits and without having to repay Medicare hospital services benefits already received. The bill also allows an individual to opt back in with no penalty.

Lulu’s LawThis bill requires the Federal Communications Commission to issue an order explicitly permitting the transmission of wireless emergency alerts to mobile phones in the event of a shark attack. (Under current regulations, authorized government authorities are permitted to send wireless emergency alerts regarding public safety emergencies, including severe weather, missing children, and other threats to life or property.)

This bill amends the Affordable Care Act to establish a reinsurance program for certain health insurance plans and create new flexibility in how insurance is regulated and priced. The legislation creates a $50-per-member-month reinsurance program (capped at $6 billion annually from 2026–2030) to help lower premiums for individuals enrolled in off-exchange health plans, administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. It also allows insurers to opt out of the ACA's standard single risk pool requirement for certain individual market plans, removes age-based premium limitations for these opt-out plans (allowing higher premiums for older adults), and requires transparency measures such as disclosing whether out-of-network costs can count toward deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums, as well as requiring providers to inform patients when their cost-sharing would exceed what an uninsured person would pay. The bill's provisions take effect for plan years beginning January 1, 2026, and create private enforcement mechanisms allowing individuals to sue providers who fail to disclose pricing information.

Standard Fees to Expedite Evaluation and Streamlining Act or the Standard FEES ActThis bill requires the General Services Administration (GSA) to establish, and federal agencies to adopt, a uniform schedule of fees for applications to place, modify, or maintain communications facilities in, over, or on federally owned buildings and property. The fees established by the GSA must be competitively neutral with respect to other application fees for similar uses of federal buildings and property and based on the direct and actual costs of processing such applications. The GSA may establish exceptions to the fee schedule to be granted by agencies on a case-by-case basis, provided the exceptions are competitively neutral with respect to the categories of individuals or entities granted exceptions and meet certain other requirements. Agencies may only use fees collected to cover the costs of processing applications, and only to the extent that the funds are provided in advance in appropriations acts.

761st Tank Battalion Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to the 761st Tank Battalion in recognition of their role in the success of Allied forces in Europe during World War II and for the example they set as the first Black soldiers to go to war as part of an American armored unit. Following the award of the gold medal, the gold medal shall be given to the National Museum of African American History and Culture where it shall be available for display and research.

This joint resolution nullifies the rule titled Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Consumer Gas-fired Instantaneous Water Heaters and submitted by the Department of Energy (DOE) on December 26, 2024. Under the rule, DOE adopted amended energy conservation standards for gas-fired instantaneous water heaters to achieve the maximum improvement in energy efficiency that DOE determined was technologically feasible and economically justified.

This joint resolution nullifies the rule titled National Primary Drinking Water Regulations for Lead and Copper: Improvements (LCRI), which was submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency on October 30, 2024. The rule modifies the regulations under the Safe Drinking Water Act to further reduce lead in drinking water, including by directing water systems to replace all lead and certain galvanized service lines under their control within 10 years.