Akron Reporter

Rep. Emilia Sykes D-OH-13 voted against S.J. Res. 31, a resolution backed by President Donald Trump to repeal an Environmental Protection Agency rule that limits pollution from power plants and refineries. The measure passed the U.S. House narrowly on May 22 with only Republican support.

On May 22, House Republicans passed S.J. Res. 31 under the Congressional Review Act, nullifying an Environmental Protection Agency rule that limited how industrial polluters—such as oil refineries and natural gas plants—could reclassify their emissions status. The original rule, issued under the Biden administration, prevented facilities labeled as “major sources” of hazardous air pollutants from reclassifying themselves to avoid stricter pollution controls. According to Congress.gov, the resolution disapproves of the EPA’s rule and renders it without force or effect.

According to the Washington Post President Trump and his administration have repeatedly argued that rolling back power plant pollution limits is necessary to “unleash American energy,” reduce costs for consumers, and remove what they call “job-killing regulations”—even as environmental groups warn that these rollbacks could increase hazardous emissions and harm public health. 

Rep. Sykes D-OH-13 voted no on the measure, according to the House Clerk’s Official Vote Tally, siding with environmental and public health advocates who argue that deregulating major polluters would lead to increased emissions of hazardous air pollutants in working-class communities.

The House passed S.J. Res. 31 by a narrow margin of 216–212 on May 22, 2025—with all Democrats and only one Republican voting against the bill, highlighting sharp partisan divisions on environmental policy.

Emilia Sykes, a Democrat from Ohio, was elected to Congress in 2022 after serving as the minority leader in the Ohio House of Representatives, according to her House website.