SJRES 188 — 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 "National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Coal- and Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units: Final Repeal".
Official source: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-joint-resolution/188
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 188 IS: Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to “National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Coal- and Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units: Final Repeal”. U.S. Senate 2026-04-27 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 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. J. RES. 188 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 27, 2026 Mr. Whitehouse introduced the following joint resolution; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 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 National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Coal- and Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units: Final Repeal . That Congress disapproves the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Coal- and Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units: Final Repeal (91 Fed. Reg. 9088 (February 24, 2026)), and such rule shall have no force or effect.
Plain-English summary
Confidence: high · Complexity: moderate · Model: grok-4.5
This is a joint resolution—both the House and Senate would have to pass it—that tries to cancel one recent EPA rule. It uses the Congressional Review Act, which is a fast-track tool Congress has to wipe out an agency rule.
The EPA rule at issue is a “final repeal” of national limits on hazardous air pollutants from coal- and oil-fired power plants. This resolution says Congress disapproves that repeal. If it became law, the repeal would have no force or effect—so the EPA’s undo would not stand.
Who might notice? Folks who run coal- and oil-fired electric plants, people living with the air-quality effects of those plants, and anyone watching power-sector pollution rules. It does not rewrite the whole Clean Air Act; it only targets this one repeal.
In the Senate, a motion to even take it up failed 46–53, so it did not move forward at that vote. Full text is on Congress.gov for S.J. Res. 188.
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 | Accelerate clean-energy transition | Expand domestic fossil and all-of-the-above production | Yea nullifies EPA’s repeal of hazardous-air standards on coal/oil power plants, keeping those limits; Nay leaves the repeal in place, easing those plant emission constraints. |
| Regulation & Agency Oversight | Disapprove or nullify agency rules | Preserve agency rules and standards | Yea is a CRA disapproval so the EPA repeal rule has no force; Nay keeps that agency rule in effect. |