[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4403 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4403
To prohibit weather modification within the United States, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 15, 2025
Ms. Greene of Georgia introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit weather modification within the United States, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Clear Skies Act''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION OF WEATHER MODIFICATION.
(a) In General.--Whoever, in any circumstance described in
subsection (b), knowingly conducts weather modification in the United
States, including the territories and possessions of the United States,
shall be subject to the penalties described in subsection (c).
(b) Circumstances Described.--For the purposes of subsection (a),
the circumstances described in this subsection are that--
(1) the defendant traveled in interstate or foreign
commerce, or traveled using a means, channel, facility, or
instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce, in
furtherance of or in connection with the conduct described in
subsection (a);
(2) the defendant used a means, channel, facility, or
instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce in
furtherance of or in connection with the conduct described in
subsection (a);
(3) the defendant transmitted in interstate or foreign
commerce any communication relating to or in furtherance of the
conduct described in subsection (a) using any means, channel,
facility, or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce
or in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce by any means
or in any manner, including by computer, mail, wire, or
electromagnetic transmission;
(4) the conduct described in subsection (a) occurred within
the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United
States, the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States,
or any territory or possession of the United States; or
(5) the conduct described in subsection (a) otherwise
occurred in or affected interstate or foreign commerce.
(c) Penalties.--
(1) Criminal penalty.--Whoever violates subsection (a)
shall be fined not more than $100,000 for each violation,
imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.
(2) Civil penalty.--The Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency may, in coordination with the Administrator
of the Federal Aviation Administration, impose a civil penalty
of not more than $10,000 for each violation of subsection (a),
in addition to any other penalties provided by law.
(3) Repeat violations.--Each instance of injection,
release, emission, or dispersal under subsection (a) shall
constitute a separate violation of such section.
SEC. 3. REPORTING AND INVESTIGATION.
(a) Public Reporting.--
(1) Establishment of system.--The Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency, in coordination with the
Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration and the
Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, shall establish a system for the public to
report suspected violations of section 2.
(2) Submission of reports.--Such system may collect reports
via telephone, email, mail, or an online portal.
(3) Publication of reports.--The Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency shall make publicly available
on the website of the Environmental Protection Agency any
reports collected by such system under this subsection.
(b) Investigation.--
(1) In general.--The Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency shall investigate suspected violations of
section 2 reported under subsection (a) that the Administrator
determines warrant further review.
(2) Determination.--
(A) Requirement.--For any suspected violation
investigated under paragraph (1), the Administrator
shall determine whether a violation of section 2 has
occurred.
(B) Coordination.--In determining whether a
violation of section 2 occurred, the Administrator of
the Environmental Protection Agency may coordinate with
the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the
Interior, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration, the Administrator of the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Administrator
of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
or the head of any other Federal agency that the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
determines to be relevant, to verify the nature of any
activities described in a report submitted under
subsection (a).
(c) Referral to DOJ.--The Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency shall refer a suspected violation that the
Administrator determines to have occurred under subsection (b)(2) to
the Attorney General of the United States for further action.
SEC. 4. REPEAL OF EXISTING AUTHORITIES.
(a) Federal Statutes.--Any provision of a Federal statute
authorizing or requiring weather modification, including a licensing
requirement or permit for any such weather modification, is hereby
repealed.
(b) Federal Regulations or Executive Orders.--Any provision of a
Federal regulation or executive order authorizing or requiring weather
modification, including a licensing requirement or permit for any such
weather modification, is hereby nullified and shall have no force or
effect.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Atmosphere.--The term ``atmosphere'' means the gaseous
envelope surrounding the Earth, including all airspace within
the territorial jurisdiction of the United States.
(2) Weather modification.--
(A) In general.--The term ``weather modification''
means any injection, release, emission, or dispersal of
a chemical, a chemical compound, or a substance, or
conveyance of an apparatus, into the atmosphere for the
express purpose of--
(i) producing an artificial change in the
composition, behavior, or dynamics of the
atmosphere; or
(ii) affecting the temperature, weather,
climate, or intensity of sunlight.
(B) Examples.--Such term includes--
(i) geoengineering;
(ii) cloud seeding;
(iii) solar radiation modification and
management; and
(iv) a release of an aerosol into the
atmosphere to influence temperature,
precipitation, or the intensity of sunlight.
SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act shall take effect 90 days after the date of enactment of
this Act.
<all>