Legislative Update: Industry Looks Toward the Lame Duck to Address Pending Legislation

Industry Looks Toward the Lame Duck to Address Pending Legislation

With Congress in recess until the Lame Duck session after the elections, the Vinyl Institute and other industry partners have been actively advocating for several bills and policy issues to be approved before the end of the year.  Congressional leaders are facing competing priorities, including funding to avoid a government shutdown. The government is currently operating under a short-term continuing resolution (CR) that expires on December 11, 2026. While the House Appropriations Committee has advanced its FY 2027 spending bills, the Senate Appropriations Committee has faced disagreements over overall discretionary spending levels and has not moved its bills forward.

If Democrats regain control of the House, party leaders may favor another short-term extension to strengthen their negotiating position over federal spending decisions. However, both parties may prefer to resolve outstanding issues before the new Congress convenes. The annual National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 8800/S. 4784) could also provide a legislative vehicle for attaching unfinished policy priorities. Meanwhile, lawmakers face pressure to address surface transportation funding after the current continuing resolution extended existing programs without renewing approximately $37 billion in annual supplemental funding provided under the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law.

TSCA Reform: Congress continues to consider legislation addressing delays and backlogs in EPA’s new-chemicals review program, including the pending expiration of program funding on December 11. VI supports targeted measures to improve the timeliness, efficiency, and predictability of chemical reviews. However, VI’s overriding priority is to ensure that any legislation does no harm to Section 6 following the Fifth Circuit’s decision in East Fork Enterprises v. EPA. The court vacated EPA’s methylene chloride rule and validated several of VI’s central fly-in policy asks: EPA must reject a “whole chemical” approach and evaluate risk by individual condition of use, account for real-world workplace protections such as personal protective equipment, base its decisions on substantial evidence and the best available science, and regulate only to the extent necessary to address an identified unreasonable risk. Congress should preserve these statutory guardrails and avoid reopening Section 6 in ways that could weaken or circumvent the court’s decision. Any legislation should remain narrowly focused on improving EPA’s administration of the new-chemicals program.

RMAA: On October 7, Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) introduced the Recycled Materials Attribution Act, S. 5674, as the Senate companion to H.R. 7502, the bipartisan House bill led by Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY). The Senate bill is substantively similar to the House legislation, which VI supports and which the House Energy and Commerce Committee reported unanimously. RMAA would establish consistent national standards for recycled-content marketing claims, direct the Federal Trade Commission to update its Green Guides, and recognize third-party-certified mass-balance accounting for tracking recycled materials through complex manufacturing processes, including advanced recycling. VI supports the legislation because it would reduce regulatory uncertainty, provide manufacturers with greater confidence to invest in recycling technologies and infrastructure, and support credible recycled-content claims when recycled and conventional feedstocks cannot be physically segregated throughout production. For the vinyl industry, this framework would complement existing investments in PVC collection, processing, end-market development, and recycling innovation by providing clearer rules for bringing recycled-content products to market.

Permitting Reform: The bipartisan Senate permitting reform proposal, the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (S. 5653), was released in late September by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Mike Lee (R-UT), Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), and Ranking Members Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). The comprehensive permitting reform proposal is intended to accelerate federal approvals for energy and infrastructure projects. A procedural vote is scheduled for November 9 on the motion to proceed to H.R. 2347, which Senate leaders have selected as the legislative vehicle for the permitting package.

The proposal has attracted broad support from energy, manufacturing, labor, and other industry organizations, but critics argue that provisions intended to accelerate infrastructure development could weaken environmental protections, facilitate fossil fuel projects, and limit federal oversight. Environmental groups have also raised concerns that the legislation could accelerate construction of data centers, natural gas plants and pipelines, while supporters maintain that it would facilitate clean energy transmission projects and require data centers to contribute to transmission infrastructure costs. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a key negotiator, has said a forthcoming manager’s amendment could address some concerns, while Democrats continue seeking assurances from the Trump administration that it will treat wind and solar projects fairly in federal permitting decisions.

The bill’s prospects of passage remain uncertain in both chambers. House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-AR) has supported the proposal, while Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-CA) has urged Democrats to seek a better agreement in the next Congress. The House New Democrat Coalition has welcomed the bipartisan negotiations, particularly provisions that expand electricity transmission. At the same time, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY) has suggested additional provisions on electricity generation may be necessary.

Supporters caution that extensive renegotiation could unravel the carefully negotiated bipartisan agreement, potentially eliminating what they consider the strongest opportunity in years to enact comprehensive permitting reform. With control of Congress potentially shifting after the midterms, lawmakers face a narrow window to reconcile competing demands without jeopardizing the legislation’s passage.

EPA Faces Mounting Congressional Scrutiny Over Staffing Cuts and Scientific Research

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), ranking member of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, is intensifying her oversight of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), criticizing Administrator Lee Zeldin for not adequately responding to congressional inquiries concerning the agency’s scientific research, staffing and regulatory decisions. In a September 28,  letter to Zeldin, Lofgren outlined five ongoing investigations involving EPA’s workforce reductions and reorganization, laboratory funding and staffing, repeal of the greenhouse gas endangerment finding, assessment of the chemical PFNA, and delays in environmental research.

If Democrats regain control of the House, Lofgren is expected to chair the Science Committee if her party wins the majority, and could significantly expand oversight and investigations into the Trump administration’s environmental policies in 2027. EPA acknowledged receiving the letter and indicated it would respond through appropriate channels.

Lofgren also raised concerns that EPA’s air program has reportedly prevented the newly established Office of Applied Science and Environmental Solutions from conducting or publishing air pollution research. She accused EPA of providing evasive responses to congressional requests and demanded nine sets of records by November 6.

The oversight dispute between Ranking Member Lofgren and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin continues, including a notable exchange that began in May 2025. At the time, Lofgren and Environment Subcommittee Ranking Member Gabe Amo (D-RI) sent a formal inquiry to Zeldin seeking clarification on reports of an imminent agency reorganization and a planned Reduction in Force (RIF) within the EPA’s scientific arm. The lawmakers specifically asked whether the administration intended to close independent research laboratories mandated by statute.

EPA Plans to Expand AI Use to Streamline Permitting and Improve Efficiency

The EPA plans to expand its use of artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline permitting, improve regulatory consistency and strengthen oversight of federal grant programs through at least the remainder of the Trump administration, according to its fiscal year 2027 evidence plan released October 5. The agency will examine how AI can integrate air and water pollution permitting systems, identify overlapping regulatory requirements, and reduce the time, costs, and uncertainty associated with federal permitting decisions. EPA will also evaluate the effectiveness of its grant programs and refine performance measures to ensure federal funding supports agency priorities and is used efficiently. The initiative aligns with President Donald Trump’s broader efforts to accelerate federal permitting and expand AI adoption across government agencies. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the effort would promote more predictable permitting in coordination with state, tribal, and local regulators while improving the use of taxpayer resources.

EPA Cites Chemical Supply Chain Disruptions in Proposal to Delay TCE Restrictions

The EPA is proposing to extend several compliance deadlines under the Biden administration’s 2024 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) rule phasing out most uses of trichloroethylene (TCE), a widely used chlorinated solvent. Under the proposal, EPA would postpone prohibitions on certain industrial and commercial uses of TCE from December 18, 2026, to December 31, 2027, including its use as a chemical intermediate, processing aid in battery manufacturing and other industrial applications, and associated wastewater disposal. The agency would also extend a June 2027 deadline to December 31, 2027, for manufacturers of the refrigerant HFC-134a to reduce their TCE feedstock consumption to no more than 75% of baseline levels.

EPA argues that the extensions are necessary to address implementation challenges, prevent disruptions to domestic chemical manufacturing, and give industries that depend on TCE additional transition time. The proposal follows concerns raised by manufacturers that the original compliance deadlines could disrupt production of other chlorinated solvents, increase disposal costs, and potentially force facility closures. EPA acknowledged that its original rule had not fully accounted for specific manufacturing practices and that prohibiting the transfer and reuse of byproduct TCE could require incineration, exceed existing permit limits, and threaten production of other chlorinated solvents. The agency also cited continued demand for HFC-134a in military, medical, and critical infrastructure applications, as well as changes to refrigerant production allowances under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, to justify extending the phaseout timeline.

EPA has already extended other TCE compliance deadlines, including certain critical uses, while litigation proceeds. The latest proposal reflects the administration’s efforts to give chemical manufacturers additional regulatory flexibility while the legal future of the broader TCE restrictions remains unresolved.  The underlying TCE rule remains subject to consolidated litigation before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Briefing concluded in late September, and the parties are awaiting further court action following a September 15 Fifth Circuit decision vacating EPA’s separate rule regulating methylene chloride, another chlorinated solvent. Industry groups are urging the Third Circuit to adopt similar reasoning in the TCE litigation.