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HR 5842 116th Congress House

Voices for Environmental Justice Act

Official title: To authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to award grants to entities to enable such entities to participate in decisions impacting… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: To authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to award grants to entities to enable such entities to participate in decisions impacting the health and safety of their communities in connection with the release of certain hazardous air pollutants and the permitting of solid waste disposal facilities and hazardous waste facilities, and for other purposes.

Introduced: February 21, 2020 See on congress.gov
Environmental Protection Air qualityCommunity life and organizationDue process and equal protectionEnvironmental assessment, monitoring, research
More subjectsShow fewer subjects
Environmental healthEnvironmental regulatory proceduresGovernment information and archivesHazardous wastes and toxic substancesIndian social and development programsLicensing and registrationsMinority healthPoverty and welfare assistanceRacial and ethnic relationsSolid waste and recycling
This bill died when the 116th Congress ended
It never became law before the 116th Congress (2019–2020) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Feb 11, 2020
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Feb 11, 2020
Introduced in House
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 Latest action February 11, 2020

Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Voices for Environmental Justice Act

This bill authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to award grants to eligible entities to participate in decisions impacting the health and safety of their communities in connection with an actual or potential release of a covered hazardous air pollutant. Additionally, the bill authorizes the EPA to award grants to eligible entities to participate in decisions impacting the health and safety of their communities relating to the permitting or permit renewal of a solid waste disposal facility or hazardous waste facility.

An eligible entity must be a group of individuals who reside in a community that (1) is a population or community of color, an indigenous community, or a low-income community; and (2) is in close proximity to the site of an actual or potential release of a covered hazardous air pollutant.

Covered hazardous air pollutants include those listed on the Toxics Release Inventory or those identified as carcinogenic by an assessment under the Integrated Risk Information System of the EPA.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 5842: Voices for Environmental Justice Act. 116th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-5842/
MLA
"H.R. 5842: Voices for Environmental Justice Act." 116th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-5842/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 5842, 116th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-5842/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 5842: Voices for Environmental Justice Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-5842/)
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