HJRES157-119

In Committee

Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to "Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program: Standards for 2026 and 2027, Partial Waiver of 2025 Cellulosic Biofuel Volume Requirement, and Other Changes".

119th Congress Introduced Apr 20, 2026

Summary

What This Bill Does

H.J.Res.157 is a Congressional Review Act disapproval resolution. It targets the Environmental Protection Agency rule relating to Renewable Fuel Standard Program standards for 2026 and 2027 and provides that the rule shall have no force or effect. The targeted rule sets renewable volume obligations for transportation fuel and includes a partial waiver of the 2025 cellulosic biofuel requirement. The practical result is not a new replacement rule; it is a congressional veto of the agency action, which can also restrict the agency from issuing a substantially similar rule without new statutory authority.

Who Benefits and How

Petroleum refiners benefit because disapproval would remove or prevent the regulatory obligations created by the rule. Members of Congress opposing the rule benefit because the CRA provides a direct vehicle to nullify the agency action. Regulated parties benefit from clearer congressional opposition to the rule and less near-term implementation risk. Fuel importers benefit if disapproval reduces or delays renewable-fuel compliance obligations.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Environmental Protection Agency rulemaking staff must respond to congressional disapproval and may be constrained from issuing a substantially similar rule. Biofuel producers bear the burden if protections, standards, or program changes in the rule are blocked. Congressional oversight committees must handle the policy consequences of removing the rule without passing a replacement. Cellulosic biofuel developers may lose demand certainty from updated EPA volume standards.

Key Provisions

  • Provides congressional disapproval of the Environmental Protection Agency rule relating to Renewable Fuel Standard Program standards for 2026 and 2027.
  • Blocks the rule by declaring that it shall have no force or effect.
  • Uses the Congressional Review Act rather than ordinary notice-and-comment rulemaking.
  • Restricts the agency's ability to issue a substantially similar rule unless Congress authorizes it.

Evidence Chain:

This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.

At a Glance

What This Bill Does

Uses the Congressional Review Act to disapprove the Environmental Protection Agency rule relating to Renewable Fuel Standard Program standards for 2026 and 2027, causing that rule to have no force or effect.

Key Policy Areas

Administrative Law, Congressional Review Act

Primary Purpose

Uses the Congressional Review Act to disapprove the Environmental Protection Agency rule relating to Renewable Fuel Standard Program standards for 2026 and 2027, causing that rule to have no force or effect.

Policy Domains

Administrative Law Congressional Review Act

Resolution provisions

Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
  • Petroleum refiners
  • Members of Congress opposing the rule
  • Regulated parties
  • Congressional oversight committees
Model: codex-gpt-5 | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: ih

Contextual inference, no direct clause citation

Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
  • Environmental Protection Agency rulemaking staff
  • Biofuel producers
  • Congressional oversight committees
  • Program administrators
Model: codex-gpt-5 | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: ih

Contextual inference, no direct clause citation

Legislative Progress

In Committee
Introduced Committee Passed
Apr 20, 2026

Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Apr 20, 2026

Introduced in House

Stakeholder Effects

cui bono?

How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.

Energy
3 mentions across 1 clause
+2 positive -1 negative

Cellulosic biofuel developers, Fuel importers, Petroleum refiners

Positive-direction: Fuel importers, Petroleum refiners

Negative-direction: Cellulosic biofuel developers

Agriculture
1 mention across 1 clause
-1 negative

Biofuel producers

1/1
sections analyzed
Full impact breakdown

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
Administrative Law Congressional Review Act

We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.

Learn more about our methodology