Require FERC and the Electric Reliability Organization to review other federal agencies' proposed regulations that could affect bulk-power system reliability before those agencies may finalize them.

Tom Cotton · Arkansas · Republican

policy impact 0.61 specificity 0.90 extraction confidence 96%

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Occurrences

Senator Tom Cotton introduced legislation requiring the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) to review regulations proposed by other federal agencies that could affect the reliability of the bulk-power system. The bill prohibits agencies from finalizing actions until they respond to any concerns raised by FERC.

Cotton introduced a bill to force reliability review of federal regulations affecting the bulk-power system and block finalization until concerns are addressed.

Cotton Introduces Bill to Safeguard Power System’s Reliability
secondary · other · model gpt-5.4-mini

Evidence

Bill text requires agencies to submit proposed 'covered agency actions' that affect generation resources to FERC for review and bars agencies from finalizing such rules until FERC finds they will not likely have a significant negative impact on bulk‑power reliability.

The engrossed text of H.R.3616 (Reliable Power Act) amends section 215 of the Federal Power Act to (1) require the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO/NERC) to perform annual long‑term assessments and notify FERC if it finds a 'generation inadequacy'; (2) require federal agencies that receive such notice to submit any 'covered agency action' (a regulation that relates to or directly affects generation resources) to FERC at OMB submission or at least 90 days prior to publication; (3) require FERC, in consultation with the ERO and transmission organizations, to provide comments and, if applicable, modification recommendations; and (4) prohibit the agency head from finalizing the covered action until the agency responds and FERC finds the action will not likely have a significant negative impact on the bulk‑power system. The text is explicit about the review-before-finalization mechanism.

partial unknown

H.R. 3616 — Reliable Power Act — Text (Engrossed in House) — Congress.gov
secondary · model gpt-5-mini · confidence 90%

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Procedural status: Passed House (Dec 17, 2025); received in the Senate and referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (Dec 18, 2025). No further Senate enactment recorded on the docket.

Congress.gov status shows H.R.3616 was reported in the House and passed the House on December 17, 2025, and was received in the Senate and referred to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on December 18, 2025. As of the current lookback (May 26–28, 2026) there is no additional recorded Senate action on this bill (no passage into law), meaning the statutory requirement described in the claim exists in a passed‑House bill but has not been enacted.

partial unknown

H.R. 3616 — All Actions & Status — Congress.gov
secondary · model gpt-5-mini · confidence 87%

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Assessments

partial unknown

The policy the claim describes is embodied in H.R.3616 (Reliable Power Act): the engrossed House text would require agencies to submit covered actions affecting generation to FERC/ERO review and bar finalization until FERC finds no likely significant negative reliability impact. H.R.3616 passed the House on Dec 17, 2025 and was received in the Senate (referred to Senate Energy & Natural Resources) but had not been enacted into law as of the latest lookback (May 26–28, 2026). Because the statutory requirement exists only in a House-passed bill and not an enacted law, the promise is only partially fulfilled. There is no evidence in the provided materials that Senator Tom Cotton sponsored or materially advanced this measure in the Senate; therefore I do not award the effort badge for a candidate-led legislative attempt. Timing is unknown because the measure has not become law and could be enacted later or modified.

provider openai · model gpt-5-mini · confidence 85%