SJRES 139 — Congress 119
A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to "Air Plan Disapproval; Colorado; Regional Haze Plan for the Second Implementation Period".
Official source: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-joint-resolution/139
Congress.gov subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures; Air quality; Climate change and greenhouse gases; Congressional oversight; Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); Environmental Protection
Issues impacted: Regulation & Agency Oversight (ai, high), Energy & Climate (taxonomy, high)
Official bill text (stored)
Plain-text extraction from Congress.gov text formats. Canonical source remains the official URL above. Full text is prioritized for bills with roll-call votes.
119 SJ 139 PCS: Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to “Air Plan Disapproval; Colorado; Regional Haze Plan for the Second Implementation Period”. U.S. Senate 2026-03-19 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. IIA Calendar No. 364 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. J. RES. 139 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 19, 2026 Mr. Bennet (for himself, Mr. Whitehouse , and Mr. Hickenlooper ) introduced the following joint resolution; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works March 19, 2026 Committee discharged, by petition, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 802(c) , and placed on the calendar JOINT RESOLUTION Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to Air Plan Disapproval; Colorado; Regional Haze Plan for the Second Implementation Period . That Congress disapproves the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to Air Plan Disapproval; Colorado; Regional Haze Plan for the Second Implementation Period (91 Fed. Reg. 3048 (January 26, 2026)), and such rule shall have no force or effect. March 19, 2026 Committee discharged, by petition, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 802(c) , and placed on the calendar
Plain-English summary
Confidence: high · Complexity: simple · Model: grok-4.5
This is Congress’s fast-track tool—called a Congressional Review Act resolution—to cancel one specific agency rule. It goes after an EPA decision from January 2026 that rejected Colorado’s plan for clearing up regional haze (that milky air pollution that dulls views in parks and wild places).
If it became law, the EPA’s rejection would be wiped out and have no legal force. In plain terms, Congress would be saying that thumbs-down on Colorado’s plan does not stand.
People most likely to notice are folks in Colorado, plus the industries and power sources that haze rules often touch. Anyone watching the tug-of-war between state air plans and federal EPA review might pay attention too.
A motion to even take it up already failed in the Senate (46–52), so it did not move forward from there.
Related issues
How a vote maps to positions
Impartial mapping: which issue position a Yea vs Nay advances. When a bill has multiple floor votes, each roll can have its own mapping. Bill-level entries (no roll listed) apply as a default when a roll has no specific map. Used for legislator alignment.
All rolls (bill default)
| Issue | Yea advances | Nay advances | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy & Climate | Grid reliability and affordability | Accelerate clean-energy transition | Yea nullifies EPA’s disapproval of Colorado’s regional haze plan, easing federal pressure for stricter haze controls; Nay keeps that EPA disapproval in force. |
| Regulation & Agency Oversight | Disapprove or nullify agency rules | Preserve agency rules and standards | Yea is a CRA disapproval stripping the EPA rule of force and effect; Nay leaves the published EPA rule standing. |