Press Releases
The Republican Recap: Week of April 13, 2026
Washington,
April 17, 2026
Here’s a recap of what Republicans achieved on the House Floor this week:
Expressing Support for Historic Tax Relief for Working Families ✅
This week, House Republicans passed a resolution to recognize and celebrate the significant tax relief delivered by the Working Families Tax Cuts (WFTC) to support hardworking families and allow Americans to keep more of their hard-earned money. On July 4, 2025, President Donald Trump signed the WFTC into law. This historic legislation included no tax on tips and no tax on overtime, and prevented a $2.6 trillion tax hike on taxpayers making less than $400,000 per year – delivering the largest tax cut in American history. The WFTC increases the standard deduction, ensures 88 percent of all seniors who receive Social Security get a special deduction to reduce their tax bills, invests in tax-advantaged Trump Accounts for children, increases the Child Tax Credit for over 40 million families, and expands access to health savings accounts for more than 10 million Americans. Thanks to these pro-worker, pro-family policies, the 2025 tax year is expected to be the largest tax refund season in history. The average tax refund is up 11% this year, with tens of millions of Americans claiming the provisions in our legislation:
H. Res. 1156, sponsored by Rep. Mike Kelly, expresses support for tax policies that support working families and allow them to keep more of their hard-earned money, and recognizes the significant tax relief provided by the Working Families Tax Cuts for hardworking Americans.
“The Working Families Tax Cuts reward hard work today while saving you money for tomorrow. Thanks to these incredible new policies, including No Tax on Tips and No Tax on Overtime, this law leverages the tax code to work for Americans, not against them,” said Rep. Kelly. “From employers to employees, from children to seniors, the Working Families Tax Cuts make historic investments in Western Pennsylvania and the United States, both for today and for generations to come.” What Members Said: Rep. Ken Calvert highlighted that by voting against our resolution supporting tax relief for working families, Democrats have made it clear they want Americans to pay higher taxes.
 Chairwoman Lisa McClain emphasized that despite Americans receiving larger refunds this year because of the tax cuts Republicans passed – and even after seeing the benefits for millions of families – Democrats still can't support tax relief for working families.
 States across America are being punished for emissions, man-made or natural, that originate from outside our borders, such as from factories in China and Mexico and Canadian wildfires. While the Clean Air Act (CAA) allows states to adjust their plans when foreign emissions affect their ability to meet federal standards, the Biden Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) guidance limited that relief to only human-caused emissions from abroad, excluding natural foreign emissions like wildfire smoke. Not only is it wrong to punish states for emissions outside of their control, but this kind of overly burdensome red tape can place unnecessary burdens on manufacturers and communities, delay important projects for years, and raise costs for Americans. American states and producers need fair and consistent air quality designations. This week, House Republicans passed legislation to restore the original intent of the law and prevent states from being penalized for natural and man-made emissions from foreign nations they have no control over. Rep. August Pfluger’s legislation, H.R. 6409, the Foreign Emissions and Nonattainment Clarification for Economic Stability (FENCES) Act, amends the Clean Air Act to ensure that foreign natural or man-made emissions are not considered when determining states’ compliance with federal air quality standards, preventing U.S. states from facing penalties for emissions outside their control and allowing states to account for such emissions earlier in the regulatory process. “The passage of my FENCES Act is a win for American businesses and workers who have been unfairly penalized for pollution beyond their control. By ensuring that foreign emissions and natural events, such as wildfires, are not counted against air monitoring data, this bill brings long-overdue fairness and certainty to the permitting process. This means fewer delays, lower costs for consumers, and more confidence for businesses looking to invest and create jobs. It is a practical, commonsense fix that protects our economy and the integrity of our air quality standards,” said Rep. Pfluger. What Members Said: Rep. Jeff Crank underscored that states shouldn't pay the price for emissions they didn't create, and that H.R. 6409 provides regulatory certainty and will protect American jobs.
 Rep. Craig Goldman celebrated the passage of H.R. 6409 and noted this common sense bill protects American communities and companies from being penalized for pollution originating in foreign countries.
 Eliminating Duplicative and Burdensome Environmental Reviews ✅
Under Section 309 of the Clean Air Act, the EPA is mandated to review and comment on the environmental impacts of federal projects and actions outlined in Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) prepared by other agencies to evaluate compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Typically, the EPA has already been involved throughout the NEPA review process and preparation of the EIS, making this secondary review redundant and inefficient. Also, since Congress passed Section 309 thirty years ago, many agencies have developed their own expertise preparing EISs. Furthermore, in 2025, the Supreme Court narrowed NEPA’s scope in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition vs. Eagle County, Colorado, by ruling that NEPA does not require federal agencies to analyze environmental impacts outside their regulatory control. This decision makes NEPA’s secondary review even more unnecessary and inappropriate. Conducting duplicative reviews doesn’t help protect the environment – it only slows the review process, delays project development, spikes costs, and puts American jobs at risk by adding costly and unnecessary layers of bureaucracy. House Republicans passed legislation to get rid of the EPA’s redundant review requirement, streamlining permitting and unleashing economic growth while preserving action agencies’ authority to carry out environmental impact analysis. H.R. 6398, the Reducing and Eliminating Duplicative Environmental Regulations (RED Tape) Act, sponsored by Rep. John Joyce, streamlines the review process for federal projects by eliminating the Environmental Protection Agency’s duplicative review requirement on projects already reviewed by other agencies and covered by the National Environmental Policy Act. “The passage of the RED Tape Act is a critical step toward restoring efficiency and predictability in the federal permitting process. Unnecessary and duplicative regulations drive up costs, delay projects, and prevent necessary development that would benefit our workforce, businesses, and constituents. As energy demands rise, an efficient permitting process will become even more essential to meeting our energy needs, unleashing American energy dominance, and strengthening our position in the global race for critical minerals and advanced manufacturing,” said Rep. Joyce. What Members Said: Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart highlighted that H.R. 6398 will speed up permitting by eliminating mandatory, repetitive government reviews, meaning roads, bridges, energy, and broadband get built faster and at a lower cost to taxpayers.
 Rep. Pat Harrigan emphasized that H.R. 6398 gets American infrastructure moving.
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