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H.R. 4690 House Real Bill Placed on Union Calendar, Calendar No... 119th Congress

Reliable Federal Infrastructure Act

Making Federal Buildings Green by Redefining Green

Legislative Progress Introduced Jul 23, 2025
House Origin → Both Chambers → President
House (origin)
Introduced
Committee
3
Passed House
Senate
4
Received in Senate
5
Committee
6
Passed Senate
President
President
Absurdity Index
7/10
7-8Hold My Gavel
The Gist
Hold My Gavel

This bill guts the requirement that new federal buildings reduce fossil fuel consumption by 90% compared to 2003 levels. But the truly creative part is what it does to 'green building' certification: it prohibits any certification system from rejecting a building based on fossil fuel use. A federal building could run entirely on coal and still qualify as 'green.' The name 'Reliable Federal Infrastructure Act' manages to be about infrastructure reliability the way the Holy Roman Empire was holy, Roman, and an empire.

Why It Matters

The Energy Conservation and Production Act and EISA 2007 Section 433 established that federal buildings should lead by example on energy efficiency, with a target of 90% fossil fuel reduction by FY 2025-2029. This bill doesn't just roll that back; it retroactively pretends the standards never existed. During the 180-day transition, agencies must act 'as though the requirements had never taken effect.' The green building provision is the cherry on top: by forbidding certifications from considering fossil fuel use, it effectively redefines 'green' to include any energy source. It passed the Energy Subcommittee 16-14 and full committee 27-21, both on party-line votes, alongside a batch of similarly themed bills including the SHOWER Act and the 'Don't Mess With My Home Appliances Act.'

Sponsor
Langworthy, Nicholas A. [R-NY-23] R
Committee
Committee on Energy and Commerce
Introduced
Jul 23, 2025
Category
Energy

Party Balance

R
Primary Sponsor Langworthy, Nicholas A. [R-NY-23]
Republican
Cosponsors (7 total)
R:7

Key Milestones

15 total actions

Introduced in House

Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

Ordered to be Reported by the Yeas and Nays: 27-21

Estimated Taxpayer Cost

$158,316

~2 hours of congressional session time at $79,158/hour

(535 members × $174k salary ÷ 147 session days ÷ 8 hours)

Simplified estimate based on salary costs only. Actual costs include staff, facilities, and lost productivity.

Satire notice: Spending figures, pork tracking, and editorial commentary below are satirical estimates for entertainment purposes. They are not official government cost analyses. Legislative history and vote records are real — verify at Congress.gov .

Pork Barrel Meter
$0
$0$100B$1T+
"Squeaky Clean"

Satirical estimate for entertainment purposes

Watch the Sausage Get Made

See how this bill transformed through 3 stages of the legislative process.

Deep Dive

All Legislative Actions 15
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy
Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management
Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 16-14
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Ordered to be Reported by the Yeas and Nays: 27-21
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Energy and Commerce. H. Rept. 119-483, Part I
Committee on Transportation discharged
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 413
Text Versions 2
Reported in House
Introduced in House

What This Bill Does

The Reliable Federal Infrastructure Act repeals federal building energy efficiency performance standards established under the Energy Conservation and Production Act and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Specifically, it eliminates the requirement that new federal buildings and major renovations reduce on-site fossil fuel-generated energy consumption by 90% compared to FY 2003 levels by FY 2025-2029.

The bill also amends federal green building certification requirements to prohibit any certification system from denying a building’s “green” status based on its fossil fuel consumption. This effectively means a federal building powered entirely by fossil fuels could receive green building certification.

The Context

This bill was one of eight bills advanced by the House Energy Subcommittee in a single markup session in November 2025, alongside the SHOWER Act (Saving Homeowners from Overregulation With Exceptional Rinsing), the “Don’t Mess With My Home Appliances Act,” and the Homeowner Energy Freedom Act (HR 4758). All four party-line roll call votes split 16-14 or 17-14 along party lines.

The standards being repealed were part of a decades-long effort to make federal buildings lead by example on energy efficiency. The DOE’s Clean Energy Rule, finalized in May 2024, had recently updated 10 CFR Parts 433 and 435 to add fossil fuel emission standards for new federal construction. This bill would retroactively treat those requirements as if they “had never taken effect.”

Energy and Commerce Chairman Latta argued that “burdensome regulations have driven up costs”, while critics note the bill undermines the federal government’s own decarbonization commitments.

The Votes

Both the subcommittee and full committee votes were strictly party-line, with zero crossover. All votes were cast in person — proxy voting was eliminated by the House Republican majority in the 119th Congress rules package.

Energy Subcommittee (Nov 19, 2025): 16-14 Chaired by Rep. Robert Latta (R-OH-5), ranking member Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL-14). All 16 Republican subcommittee members present voted Yea; all 14 Democrats present voted Nay.

Full Energy and Commerce Committee (Dec 3, 2025): 27-21 Chaired by Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY-2), ranking member Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ-6). The committee is composed of 30 Republicans and 24 Democrats. Of 54 total members, 48 voted (27R Yea, 21D Nay), with 3 Republicans and 3 Democrats absent. Individual member votes are documented in H. Rept. 119-483 (roll call embedded as image).

Notable: sponsor Rep. Langworthy (R-NY-23) and all 7 cosponsors sit on this committee. Cosponsor Rep. Goldman (R-TX-12) also sponsors the companion bill HR 4758.

The Name

“Reliable Federal Infrastructure Act” is a masterclass in legislative naming. The bill makes federal infrastructure less efficient, not more reliable. It removes performance standards, not unreliability. The word “reliable” appears to refer to the reliability of fossil fuels as an energy source, a framing that redefines “infrastructure reliability” as “the right to use whatever fuel you want without efficiency targets.” The actual text never uses the word “reliable.”

Source: Real bill from the 119th Congress. View on Congress.gov. Full text (reported).

Disclaimer: The absurdity score and editorial commentary above represent this site’s opinion. Bill details should be verified at Congress.gov.

This page is satirical commentary by AbsurdityIndex.org. Legislative history comes from public congressional records; spending estimates and "pork" figures are editorial and may not reflect official cost analyses. Absurdity scores are subjective editorial ratings. Verify all claims at Congress.gov