ACHE Act
Latest action. subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) Hearings Held.
Appalachian Communities Health Emergency Act or the ACHE Act
This bill places restrictions and requirements on certain mining projects until the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) determines whether such projects pose risks to human health. The bill applies to mountaintop-removal coal mining projects that use blasting with explosives in the steep slope regions of Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Specifically, the bill requires the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to conduct or support studies on the health impacts of mountaintop-removal coal mining projects on individuals in the surrounding communities. HHS must use these studies when making its determination on whether such mining presents any health risks to those individuals.
Until HHS makes its determination, entities carrying out such mining must monitor levels of soil, water, air, and noise pollution. HHS must make the results of this monitoring publicly available.
In addition, specified agencies may not issue permits for any mountaintop-removal coal mining project or expansion unless HHS determines that such mining does not present any health risk to individuals in the surrounding communities.
The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement of the Department of the Interior must assess a one-time fee upon existing mining projects. The fee must cover the federal cost of the studies and pollution monitoring required by the bill.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on March 18, 2021. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on June 9, 2022: Subcommittee Hearings Held.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 117th Congress (2021-22), 362 of the 15,242 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
John Yarmuth (D-KY) introduced it on March 18, 2021, and 4 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 4 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 18, 2021, 2002 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 1554 days ago, on June 9, 2022.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 117th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2023 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers