Ending Fossil Fuel Bailouts Act of 2026

This bill changes federal bankruptcy law for oil, gas, and coal companies. It would require that environmental cleanup costs be paid ahead of most other debts, ranking just behind wages and benefits owed to non-executive workers, and it would bar these cleanup costs and environmental bond obligations from being wiped out in bankruptcy. If a bankrupt company cannot cover worker pay and cleanup costs, a court could take back executive pay from the prior 5 years, and parent companies, private equity firms, and hedge funds that own shares would be held liable. The bill also stops bankrupt companies from abandoning fossil fuel property, extends the look-back period for undoing certain transfers to 10 years, and requires new federal oil, gas, and coal leases to bar transfer after the leaseholder files for bankruptcy.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• Dave Min Democrat sponsor
• 17 cosponsors