UNSHACKLE Act
Latest action · Nov 1, 2022 Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.
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.
- IntroducedJun 11, 2021
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Undoing NEPA’s Substantial Harm by Advancing Concepts that Kickstart the Liberation of the Economy Act or the UNSHACKLE Act
This bill revises the environmental review process required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), including by
- establishing deadlines for federal agencies to complete reviews of the environmental effects of proposed major federal actions;
- establishing penalties for agencies that do not comply with these deadlines;
- limiting the number of assessment documents required for proposed major federal actions, requiring agencies to reuse certain research or documents, and allowing agencies to adopt environmental documents prepared by states or third parties;
- requiring agencies to only consider alternatives to proposed actions that are technically and economically feasible;
- prohibiting agencies from considering whether proposed actions or alternatives to those actions will have an effect on climate change; and
- establishing requirements concerning the judicial review of NEPA cases.
Cosponsors 1
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Jul 2, 2021.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-NE | Don Bacon | Jul 2, 2021 |
Committees 4
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Natural Resources Committee | Referred Jun 11, 2021 |
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Jun 11, 2021 |
| Constitution and Limited Government Subcommittee | Referred Nov 1, 2022 | |
| House | Transportation and Infrastructure Committee | Referred Jun 11, 2021 |
| Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee | Referred Jun 14, 2021 | |
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred Jun 11, 2021 |
| Environment Subcommittee | Referred Jun 14, 2021 |
Actions 5
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Nov 1, 2022Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.
- Jun 14, 2021Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
- Jun 14, 2021Referred to the Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change.
- Jun 11, 2021Introduced in House
- Jun 11, 2021Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Energy and Commerce, 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
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 167, no. 102, June 11, 2021, page H2709.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 117-16 | AMERICA'S NATURAL SOLUTIONS: THE CLIMATE BENEFITS OF INVESTING IN HEALTHY ECOSYSTEMS93 pages | Select Committee on the Climate Crisis | Apr 1, 2022 |
Related bills 11
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 715 | NEPA Data Transparency and Accountability Act | Related bill | Mar 11, 2021 |
| S 716 | NEPA Legal Reform Act | Related bill | Mar 11, 2021 |
| S 717 | UNSHACKLE Act | Identical bill | Mar 11, 2021 |
| S 718 | NEPA Agency Process Accountability Act | Related bill | Mar 11, 2021 |
| S 719 | NEPA State Assignment Expansion Act | Related bill | Mar 11, 2021 |
| S 721 | NEPA Accountability and Enforcement Act | Related bill | Mar 11, 2021 |
| HR 3813 | NEPA Legal Reform Act | Related bill | Nov 1, 2022 |
| HR 4335 | NEPA Accountability and Enforcement Act | Related bill | Jul 1, 2021 |
| HR 4336 | NEPA State Assignment Expansion Act | Related bill | Jul 2, 2021 |
| HR 4739 | NEPA Data Transparency and Accountability Act | Related bill | Jul 28, 2021 |
| HR 4740 | NEPA Agency Process Accountability Act | Related bill | Jul 28, 2021 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to impose time limits on the completion of certain required actions under the Act, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- UNSHACKLE Act
- Undoing NEPA’s Substantial Harm by Advancing Concepts that Kickstart the Liberation of the Economy Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Environmental Protection.
- Accounting and auditing
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Air quality
- Civil actions and liability
- Climate change and greenhouse gases
- Congressional oversight
- Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
- Environmental Protection
- Environmental regulatory procedures
- Evidence and witnesses
- Executive agency funding and structure
- Federal district courts
- Government information and archives
- Intergovernmental relations
- Judicial procedure and administration
- Judicial review and appeals
- Jurisdiction and venue
- Legal fees and court costs
- Licensing and registrations
- State and local government operations
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jun 11, 2021Introduced in House
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.
