H.R. 2073 · 117th Congress

ACHE Act

Introduced on Mar 18, 2021 by John A. Yarmuth (D-KY-3). 4 cosponsors, all from the sponsor's party. Latest action (Jun 9, 2022): Subcommittee Hearings Held.

Stage
Introduced
Introduced
Mar 18, 2021
Cosponsors
4
0 from the other party
Policy area
Health
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Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. 2Reported by committee
  3. 3Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

To place a moratorium on permitting for mountaintop removal coal mining until health studies are conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Air quality
  • Coal
  • Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
  • Environmental health
  • Health information and medical records
  • Health programs administration and funding
  • Kentucky
  • Licensing and registrations
  • Medical research
  • Mining
  • Noise pollution
  • Research administration and funding
  • Tennessee
  • User charges and fees
  • Virginia
  • Water quality
  • West Virginia

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Introduced in House, Mar 18, 2021). Public domain.

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.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

John A. YarmuthD-KY-3Sponsor

Democrats · 4

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

No recorded roll call on this measure: it moved by voice vote or unanimous consent, or has not reached the floor.

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Mar 18, 2021Introduced in House
  2. Mar 18, 2021Introduced in House
  3. Mar 18, 2021 · HouseReferred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on 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.
  4. Mar 18, 2021 · HouseReferred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on 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.
  5. Mar 19, 2021 · HouseReferred to the Subcommittee on Health.
  6. May 21, 2021 · HouseReferred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.
  7. Jun 9, 2022 · HouseSubcommittee Hearings Held.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 9, 2026 · loaded Oct 9, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 9, 2026 · loaded Oct 9, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.