Environment & Energy Congressional Round-Up | November 2 - November 6, 2026

Highlights:

The House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced the Nuclear REFUEL Act (H.R.3978) and the Efficient Nuclear Licensing Hearings Act (H.R.5549). The first of these bills, introduced by Reps. Robert Latta (R-Ohio) and Scott Peters (D-Calif.), would streamline nuclear facility safety rules to make it easier to recycle spent fuel, a practice that is not currently legal but would reduce nuclear waste. The second bill, reintroduced by Reps. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), Kim Schrier (D-Wa.) and Marc Veasey (D-Texas), would simplify federal licensing rules to make it easier to build nuclear power plants. 

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) introduced the PURGE Act (H.R.10957) and the Clothing Microplastics Transparency Act of 2026 (H.R.10958) to tackle, mitigate, and regulate microplastics. The first of these bills would direct the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to research strategies and develop a pilot program for mitigating and remediating microplastics in the environment. The second would require clothing companies to clearly label clothes with the quantity of microplastics in them. It would also direct the Federal Trade Commission to promulgate microplastic regulations, such as testing protocols, for these companies.

Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R-Wash.) introduced the Healthy Forests Incentives Act (H.R.10952). The bill would create incentives to thin out high-risk forests and build partnerships between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and businesses to find productive uses for cleared lumber, such as biofuel and laminate. For more information on wildfire management, check out EESI’s briefing, Igniting Innovation: Progress and a Path Forward for Wildfire Policy.

To catch up on all of the recent environmental and energy legislation in Congress, read the pdf here.