Environment & Energy Congressional Round-Up | April 20 - April 24, 2026

Highlights:

The House passed S.1020 to require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to extend construction deadlines for certain hydropower projects. Sens. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), John Kennedy (R-La.) and John Fetterman (D-Pa.) reintroduced the bill, which passed the Senate with unanimous consent in July 2025. The bill now heads to the President’s desk for consideration. 

The House passed the Emergency Reporting Act (H.R.5200), which would strengthen the country’s emergency communications infrastructure for disasters. The bill, led by Reps. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) and Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), would direct the Federal Communications Commission to address instances where individuals were unable to reach 9-1-1 during natural disasters. To learn more about federal disaster response, check out EESI’s Rapid Readout on the future of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The House unanimously passed the Mystic Alerts Act (H.R.7022) to modernize the country’s emergency alert infrastructure. Reps. August Pfluger (R-Texas), Lizzie Fletcher (D-Texas), Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), and Marc Veasey (D-Texas) introduced the bill, which would integrate satellite networks into FEMA’s Wireless Emergency Alert system to ensure communities receive critical alerts when traditional communication infrastructure is not available. 

The House Committee on Agriculture advanced the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 (H.R.7567), known as the Farm Bill. The legislative package, which Congress reauthorizes roughly every five years, governs key programs ranging from crop insurance and capacity-building support for beginning farmers to climate-smart farming practices, rural energy, and research and development. The last Farm Bill, passed in 2018, was set to expire in 2023 and has since been extended annually. To learn more, check out EESI’s Farm Bill resources.

Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), Max Miller (R-Ohio), and Mike Carey (R-Ohio) introduced the American Energy Dominance Act (H.R.8477) to restore key energy and efficiency tax incentives. Currently, federal tax incentives such as 179D (for installing qualifying energy-efficient systems in commercial or public buildings) and 45L (for developers and contractors building energy-efficient residential homes) are set to expire on June 30, 2026. To learn more, check out EESI’s briefing on the status of federal clean energy tax incentives.

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