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(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)
Satisfying Energy Needs and Saving the Environment Act or the SENSE Act
(Sec. 2) This bill modifies the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule as it applies to certain electric utility steam generating units (electric power plants) that convert coal refuse into energy. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must maintain the existing limits for sulfur dioxide emissions from coal refuse utilities under the cap-and-trade system, instead of applying the more restrictive limits that are scheduled to go into effect in 2017. (Under the current system, a cap sets a limit on emissions. The cap is lowered over time to reduce the amount of pollutants released. Utilities may only emit as much carbon as permitted under their allowances, which may be traded with others.) Thus, the EPA must allocate to coal refuse utilities in 2017 and subsequent years the same number of emissions allowances for sulfur dioxide that have been previously allocated to coal refuse utilities, instead of reducing allowances.
After January 1, 2017, a coal refuse utility may not trade any unused sulfur dioxide allowances. Those allowances may be saved by the coal refuse utilities for use in future compliance periods.
The EPA may not increase the total number of allowances for sulfur dioxide emissions from all sources that are allocated to each state.
The bill eases emission limits for hazardous air pollutants from coal refuse utilities. The EPA must allow the utilities to meet compliance requirements by meeting the maximum achievable control technology standards for either hydrogen chloride or sulfur dioxide.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, describing H.R. 3797 as passed House without amendment on Mar 15, 2016. It is not the text of the measure; a later amendment may have changed what it does.
Mar 15, 2016Each bar: ✓ Yea from the bottom, ✕ Nay aboveMar 15, 2016
House Mar 15, 2016 · the primary vote
Satisfying Energy Needs and Saving the Environment Act
Passed
231 Yea 183 Nay 19 not voting
Party-line vote 11 of 414 voting members broke with their own party: 3 Democrats, 8 Republicans.
DemocratsRepublicansFilled: YeaRing: NayGrey: not voting or present
433 members on this roll call, from the official House record. Party majorities need at least five voting members, so an independent never counts as breaking with a party.
Signing on is not a vote: a member can cosponsor H.R. 3797 and vote against it. 3 signed when it was filed.
Organizations that named H.R. 3797 in a lobbying disclosure. Only those that cited the bill by number appear, so this is a floor, not a full list.
48 disclosures name this measure. Retrieved from LDA.gov on 2026-10-05. Senate Office of Public Records cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from LDA.gov.