Stop Harmful Satellite Bills – H.R.8255 and S.3639
Congress is considering two bills — H.R.8255 and S.3639 — that would fast-track the launch of hundreds of thousands of satellites without any health or environmental review. The FCC has NEVER assessed the health or environmental impacts of satellites.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) already warned in 2022 that the outdated satellite review process needs to be reexamined by the FCC.
H.R.8255 and S.3639 would accelerate satellite deployment — despite serious risks of pollution, orbital debris, toxic reentry metals, rocket‑fuel contamination, rare‑earth mining harms, exponential increases in electromagnetic radiation (EMR), and the lack of any process for health or environmental protections.
Why It Matters:
• Exponential increase in EMR, raising the risk of harm to people, animals, and plants.
• Toxic metals released when satellites burn up, which pollutes the air, food, and water.
• Rocket‑fuel pollution already appearing in ecosystems.
• Severe orbital crowding — Starlink logged 25,000 collision‑avoidance maneuvers in 6 months.
• Applications for over one million satellites submitted to FCC.
• Hundreds of thousands of satellites falling back to Earth each year.
• Rare‑earth mining linked to unsafe conditions and child labor.
• No process for health or environmental review.
What You Can Do Right Now:
Your voice matters. When constituents speak up en masse, Congress pays attention.
Please take a moment to urge your Senator and Representatives to oppose H.R.8255 and S.3639.
Together, we can ensure satellite expansion does not outpace the environmental protections that our communities and planet deserve.
Next Steps:
1. Find contact information for your federal legislators HERE.
2. Call AND email your federal legislators to oppose H.R.8255 and S.3639.
Sample message:
As one of your constituents, I’m reaching out to ask you to oppose Satellite Bills H.R.8255 and S.3639 in their entirety.
These bills would rubber-stamp the deployment of millions of satellites with no health or environmental safety reviews despite documented harms. These bills would fast-track satellite permit approvals that would exponentially increase satellite launches, space debris, and the levels of electromagnetic radiation emitted across the entire planet.
Since 1986, the FCC has categorically excluded satellites from human health and environmental review under NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act). The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has twice reported on unaddressed satellite impacts and admonished the FCC in a 2022 report, “FCC Should Reexamine Its Environmental Review Process for Large Constellations of Satellites.”
The Solution: Oppose H.R.8255 and S.3639 in their entirety.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) are not necessarily the views of Children’s Health Defense and/or Children’s Health Defense – Arizona. Information shared, presented and/or hyperlinked is for educational purposes only; no material is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment or any other professional advice.