HR 2578 · 117th Congress 2021–2023, ended

To seek the renegotiation of the Paris Agreement on climate change or the negotiation of a new agreement, including the requirement for the Senate to provide its advice and consent to ratification of any such agreement, and for other purposes.

Introduced Apr 15, 2021 Originated House Sponsor Garret Graves R-LA

Latest action · Apr 15, 2021 Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, 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.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

IntroducedApr 15, 2021
Passed HouseNot reached
Passed SenateNot reached
To the PresidentNot reached
Became lawNot reached

Summary

Paris Transparency and Accountability Act

This bill restricts the President's authority to unilaterally establish or revise actions the United States plans to take to meet its obligations under the Paris Agreement (a climate change treaty adopted in 2015) and increases congressional oversight of those actions. The bill also prohibits any legal cause of action in U.S. courts pursuant to the Paris Agreement.

Specifically, the President must report to Congress before proposing new or revised actions under the agreement. The report must describe the proposed actions, including their impact on global emissions, and outline a detailed plan to address economic effects and related considerations of the actions. If a proposed action results in increased energy or manufacturing costs, the report must include specific policy measures (and timelines for implementing the measures) to prevent (1) job displacement, (2) reduced global competitiveness of U.S. goods, and (3) leaked emissions that may occur as a result of the proposed action.

After the President submits a report, the bill provides Congress with a 60-day period to review it. During the review period, Congress may block the actions proposed in the report by enacting a joint resolution of disapproval. The bill also outlines procedures for the introduction and consideration of this type of joint resolution.

Cosponsors 28

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Apr 15, 2021 to Jun 13, 2022; 13 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

Seat	Cosponsor		Signed on
R-OH	Anthony Gonzalez	Original	Apr 15, 2021
R-AR	Bruce Westerman	Original	Apr 15, 2021
R-WV	Carol D. Miller	Original	Apr 15, 2021
R-WA	Cathy McMorris Rodgers	Original	Apr 15, 2021
R-WV	David B. McKinley	Original	Apr 15, 2021
R-GA	Earl L. "Buddy" Carter	Original	Apr 15, 2021
R-OK	Frank D. Lucas	Original	Apr 15, 2021
R-PA	Glenn Thompson	Original	Apr 15, 2021
R-ND	Kelly Armstrong	Original	Apr 15, 2021
R-CA	Kevin McCarthy	Original	Apr 15, 2021
R-TX	Michael T. McCaul	Original	Apr 15, 2021
R-LA	Steve Scalise	Original	Apr 15, 2021
R-NC	Virginia Foxx	Original	Apr 15, 2021
R-TX	August Pfluger		Nov 4, 2021
R-UT	Burgess Owens		Nov 4, 2021
R-WA	Dan Newhouse		Nov 4, 2021
R-UT	John R. Curtis		Nov 4, 2021
R-IN	Larry Bucshon		Nov 4, 2021
R-IA	Mariannette Miller-Meeks		Nov 4, 2021
R-OK	Markwayne Mullin		Nov 4, 2021
R-TX	Michael C. Burgess		Nov 4, 2021
R-SC	Ralph Norman		Nov 4, 2021
R-VA	Robert J. Wittman		Nov 4, 2021
R-MI	Tim Walberg		Nov 4, 2021
R-SC	William R. Timmons IV		Nov 4, 2021
R-UT	Chris Stewart		Nov 5, 2021
R-CA	Michelle Steel		Nov 18, 2021
R-FL	W. Gregory Steube		Jun 13, 2022

Committees 2

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

Chamber	Committee	What it did
House	Foreign Affairs Committee	Referred Apr 15, 2021
House	Rules Committee	Referred Apr 15, 2021

Actions 2

Everything that happened, newest first.

Apr 15, 2021Introduced in House
Apr 15, 2021Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, 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.

Research

What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.

Constitutional authority

Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: Article 1, Section 8, clauses 3 and 18 of the United. States constitution.

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 167, no. 65, April 15, 2021, page H1843.

Related bills 1

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

Bill	Title	Relationship	Latest action
HR 395	To ensure transparency with Congress and the American people by requiring that the President report to Congress on a nationally determined contribution to the Paris Agreement prior to the submission of the nationally determined contribution to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat and to provide that nothing in the Paris Agreement may be used to establish or demonstrate the existence of a violation of United States law or an offense against the law of nations in United States courts, and for other purposes.	Related bill	Jan 21, 2021

Titles 1

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced: To seek the renegotiation of the Paris Agreement on climate change or the negotiation of a new agreement, including the requirement for the Senate to provide its advice and consent to ratification of any such agreement, and for other purposes.

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: International Affairs.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

Apr 15, 2021Introduced in House

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.