Freedom to Fuel Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Freedom to Fuel Act narrows the Clean Air Act section 183(e) definition of consumer or commercial product. It adds exclusions for portable fuel containers, fuel or fuel additives regulated under section 211, and motor vehicles, non-road vehicles, or non-road engines as defined under section 216. Section 183(e) is the Clean Air Act authority for regulating consumer and commercial products that contribute volatile organic compounds to ozone pollution. By excluding those fuel and engine categories from the definition, the bill limits EPA's ability to treat them as consumer or commercial products under that specific provision, while leaving separate Clean Air Act fuel, vehicle, and engine authorities in other sections intact.
Who Benefits and How
Portable fuel container manufacturers, fuel producers, fuel additive makers, motor vehicle manufacturers, non-road vehicle manufacturers, non-road engine producers, retailers, and consumers benefit from reduced risk that EPA uses section 183(e) consumer-product authority to regulate those products. Gasoline and outdoor equipment supply chains benefit from clearer statutory separation between consumer-product rules and fuel or engine rules. EPA still retains other Clean Air Act authorities for fuels and vehicles, but this bill narrows one regulatory pathway.
Who Bears the Burden and How
EPA air-quality regulators and State air agencies bear the burden because one consumer-product control route for volatile-organic-compound emissions would be narrowed. Communities in ozone nonattainment areas may lose a potential regulatory lever for emissions associated with portable fuel containers or related fuel-handling products. Environmental organizations must rely on other Clean Air Act provisions when seeking controls on fuels, fuel additives, vehicles, non-road vehicles, or non-road engines.
Key Provisions
- Amends the Clean Air Act consumer or commercial product definition.
- Excludes portable fuel containers from the section 183(e) definition.
- Excludes fuel and fuel additives regulated under Clean Air Act section 211.
- Excludes motor vehicles, non-road vehicles, and non-road engines as defined under section 216.
- Limits EPA use of section 183(e) consumer-product authority for the excluded categories.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Excludes portable fuel containers, fuel and fuel additives regulated under Clean Air Act section 211, and motor vehicles, non-road vehicles, and non-road engines from the Clean Air Act consumer or commercial product definition used for EPA volatile-organic-compound controls.
Key Policy Areas
Environment, Energy, Manufacturing, Consumers
Primary Purpose
Excludes portable fuel containers, fuel and fuel additives regulated under Clean Air Act section 211, and motor vehicles, non-road vehicles, and non-road engines from the Clean Air Act consumer or commercial product definition used for EPA volatile-organic-compound controls.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- Portable fuel container manufacturers
- Fuel producers
- Fuel additive makers
- Motor vehicle manufacturers
- Non-road engine producers
- Retailers selling fuel containers
- Consumers buying fuel containers
Identified Costs
- EPA air-quality regulators
- State air agencies
- Communities in ozone nonattainment areas
- Environmental organizations
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Moore of Alabama (for himself, Ms. Fedorchak, Mr. Rulli, …
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Fuel additive makers, Motor vehicle manufacturers, Portable fuel container manufacturers
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
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