Battery Recycling for America's Competitive Economy Act: U.S. House of Representatives Passes BRACE Act (H.R. 9615)
September 25, 2026
By:
Walter G. Wright
Category:
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
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The United States House of Representatives on September 15th passed the Battery Recycling for America's Competitive Economy (“BRACE Act”).
Original sponsor Congresswoman Marianette Miller-Meeks describes the purpose of the BRACE Act as to modernize outdated federal regulations and strengthen America’s domestic battery recycling industry.
An additional stated objective is to retain more mineral recovery, including lithium, cobalt, nickel, and copper, onshore rather than moving offshore.
The BRACE Act undertakes the following:
- Directs the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to finalize universal waste standards for lithium batteries within 18 months.
- Establishes interim storage requirements for lithium batteries until the EPA rulemaking process concludes.
The BRACE Act also specifies that the amended universal waste rules for lithium batteries would preempt state law by amending the preemption provision in Section 104(a) of the Mercury-Containing and Rechargeable Battery Management Act . See 42 U.S.C. 14323(a).
A copy of the BRACE Act can be found here.
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