{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.capito.senate.gov/news/press-releases/epw-committee-advances-legislation-and-resolutions-at-business-meeting", "EPW Committee Advances Legislation and Resolutions at Business Meeting", "2026-09-16", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "Senate", "WV", "Shelley Moore Capito", "C001047", "www.capito.senate.gov", "capito", "https://www.capito.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, led abusiness meeting where the EPW Committee approved committee legislation and resolutions.\n\nLegislation approved by the EPW Committee:\n\nS.5045 \u2013 Wildfire Emissions Prevention Act of 2026 by a vote of 19-0\n\nS.3135 \u2013 Cold Weather Diesel Reliability Act of 2026 by a vote of 10-9\n\nS.5249 \u2013 Modernizing Outdated Regulations to Expand American Fuel Act of 2026 by a vote of 18-1\n\nThe EPW Committee also voted in favor of an en bloc package of 21 resolutions to approve prospectuses from the General Services Administration by voice vote.\n\nBelow is the opening statementof Chairman Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) as delivered.\n\n\u201cToday, we will consider three bills and 21 GSA prospectuses.\n\n\u201cFirst, we will vote on S. 5045 \u2013 the Wildfire Emissions Prevention Act, or WEPA, sponsored by Senators Curtis, Merkley, Padilla, Boozman, Kelly, and me.\n\n\u201cWEPA will make it easier for states to use prescribed burns by streamlining the EPA\u2019s process to approve \u201cexceptional events,\u201d which is better for our environment, state and local communities, and public health. I am proud of this committee for continuing its long history of working across the aisle\u2014I know they\u2019ve worked hard to reach a consensus here\u2014and look forward to reporting out this bipartisan product.\n\n\u201cWe will also consider S. 3135 \u2013 the Cold Weather Diesel Reliability Act, sponsored by Senators Sullivan, Lummis, Curtis, and Murkowski.\n\n\u201cAt an EPW Committee hearing in March, we heard firsthand the potential consequences when a vehicle\u2019s emissions systems can limit or even shut down diesel engines or farm equipment. This event, known as a derate, can strand truck drivers in isolated frigid environments or drastically impact their farm harvests.\n\n\u201cThe Cold Weather Diesel Reliability Act authorizes manufacturers to override derates in diesel vehicles and farm equipment operating in targeted and cold weather environments. I want to thank Senator Sullivan for his leadership in working to address the unique needs of Alaska and other cold weather states.\n\n\u201cIn response to feedback after the bill\u2019s introduction, an amendment in the nature of a substitute will be offered as the base text of the bill for committee action. I support the amendment of this bill and will vote to report it favorably out of committee.\n\n\u201cWe will also be voting on S. 5249 \u2013 the Modernizing Outdated Regulations to Expand American Fuel Act of 2026, led by Senators Kelly and Lummis. This bill will eliminate outdated regulations that limit our ability to rapidly strengthen America\u2019s nuclear fuel supply chain.\n\n\u201cTwo weeks ago, the House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously passed a similar bill to S. 5249. I look forward to passing this bill out of the Committee today and working with our colleagues in the House to build on our history of enacting meaningful bipartisan nuclear legislation.\n\n\u201cFinally, we will consider 21 prospectuses from the General Services Administration that concern leases for various Veterans Administration facilities as well as alterations to federal buildings throughout the country. These resolutions will provide the necessary approval for all of the building-specific prospectuses submitted by GSA thus far for fiscal year 2027.\n\n\u201cI look forward to continuing to work with Ranking Member Whitehouse to ensure that GSA prospectuses receive timely approval, while also maintaining the Committee\u2019s important oversight responsibilities to ensure the best use of taxpayer funds.\u201d\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-09-17T09:52:05Z", "2026-09-17T09:53:00Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.capito.senate.gov/news/press-releases/epw-committee-advances-legislation-and-resolutions-at-business-meeting"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.884321216493845, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}