HR 3346 Re-checks Congress.gov for new actions and updates the bill's status, and fills in any sponsors, committees, or related bills that are missing. It does not re-pull sponsors/cosponsors/committees/related — those rarely change — and it skips all work if nothing has changed upstream, so it's cheap to click.
Sovereign State Environmental Quality Assurance Act
To abolish the Environmental Protection Agency, and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill would abolish the Environmental Protection Agency effective 270 days after enactment and transfer its environmental regulatory functions to state governments. States would receive annual block grants totaling approximately $4.4 billion (fiscal years 2026–2029), distributed by population, to manage environmental programs including air and water quality, waste management, chemical safety, radiation protection, and site remediation. States would be required to designate environmental quality departments to administer the funds and conduct audits on their use. The federal government would retain oversight authority, including the ability to withhold funds if states misuse grants. The Government Accountability Office would conduct annual studies through 2029 to assess how the transition was implemented and its effectiveness.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Rep. Higgins, Clay [R-LA-3] (R-LA)
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to Clay Higgins’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- NULL $14,100
- SAFESOURCE DIRECT $10,500
- THE PICARD GROUP $8,300
- WINN CORRECTIONAL $6,666
- PHI, INC. $6,600
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Clay Higgins → · Outside spending →
Actions (2)
- May 13, 2025 Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. · house
- May 13, 2025 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Text versions (1)
Bills are re-published as they move (Introduced → Reported → Engrossed → Enrolled …). Each stage below is a separate text; pick two to see what changed. Data from Congress.gov.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 13, 2025
Mr. Higgins of Louisiana introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To abolish the Environmental Protection Agency, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Sovereign State Environmental Quality Assurance Act”.
SEC. 2. ABOLISHMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY.
(a) Abolishment.—Effective on the termination date under subsection (c), the Environmental Protection Agency is abolished.
(b) Abolition of Functions.—All functions, including any duty, obligation, power, authority, responsibility, right, privilege, activity, or program, that, immediately before the termination date under subsection (c), were functions of the Environmental Protection Agency are abolished effective on such termination date.
(c) Termination Date.—The termination date under this subsection is the date that is 270 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
(d) Wind-Up Activities.—The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall take such actions as may be necessary to wind up any outstanding obligations, activities, or affairs of the Environmental Protection Agency prior to the termination date under subsection (c).
(e) Progress Report.—Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall submit to Congress a report on the Agency’s progress in winding up the affairs of the Agency by not later than the termination date under subsection (c).
(f) Repeals.—Effective on the termination date under subsection
(c), any provision of law authorizing or requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to perform any function is, to the extent such provision of law applies to the Environmental Protection Agency, repealed.
SEC. 3. BLOCK GRANTS TO DESIGNATED STATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY DEPARTMENTS.
(a) Allocation of Funds.—
(1) In general.—Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary of the Treasury shall allocate funds made available pursuant to paragraph (5) to each covered State in the proportion to which the total population of such covered State bears to the total population of all the covered States, as determined by the last preceding decennial census.
(2) Block grant conditions.—
(A) Designation of state agency or department.—As a condition of a covered State receiving an allocation of funds under this subsection, the Governor of such covered State shall designate the environmental quality department or departments of such covered State that will use the funds to carry out the programs and activities described in paragraph (4).
(B) Audits.—As a condition of a covered State receiving an allocation of funds under this subsection, the Governor of such covered State shall commit to—
(i) completing audits on the use of funds by each environmental quality department designated pursuant to subparagraph (A) as the Secretary of the Treasury determines appropriate; and
(ii) submitting to the Secretary of the Treasury the results of such audits at such time and in such manner as the Secretary of the Treasury determines appropriate.
(3) Misused funds.—If the Secretary of the Treasury finds that any funds made available pursuant to this section have been misused by a covered State, or any environmental quality department thereof designated pursuant to paragraph (2), the Secretary of the Treasury may require repayment of the misused funds and withhold Federal funds made available pursuant to this section until such repayment occurs.
(4) Use of funds.—An environmental quality department designated pursuant to paragraph (2) shall use funds made available to such environmental quality department pursuant to this section to carry out programs and activities relating to air quality, water quality (including protection and safety of drinking water), management of solid and hazardous waste, chemical safety and emergency response, radiation protection, and remediation of contaminated sites.
(5) Authorization of appropriations.—There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $4,400,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2029.
(b) Definition of Covered State.—In this section, the term “covered State” means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa.
(c) Authorization for Administration.—There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Treasury such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2029 to—
(1) administer any allocation of funds made available pursuant to subsection (a)(5); and
(2) audit the use of funds made available pursuant to subsection (a)(5) and report to Congress on the results of any such audit.
SEC. 4. ANNUAL GAO STUDY AND REPORT.
(a) Annual Study and Report.—The Comptroller General of the United States shall—
(1) annually, for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2029, conduct a study on the implementation and effectiveness of this Act; and
(2) submit to Congress, not later than 180 days after the end of the fiscal year with respect to which a study under paragraph (1) is conducted, a report on the results of such study.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.—There is authorized to be appropriated to the Comptroller General of the United States to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2029. <all>
Comments