WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Morgan Griffith (VA-09), delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing on the Environmental Protection Agency FY2027 budget.
Congressman Griffith’s opening statement as prepared for delivery:
“Today the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment will consider President Trump’s fiscal year 2027 budget request for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“I’m glad to welcome back Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, who many of us fondly remember serving with in the House.
“When you testified before this Subcommittee last year to discuss EPA’s budget request for fiscal year 2026, I noted that you faced a difficult but important job as EPA Administrator.
“I believe that you have excelled as Administrator, the people across my district have been excited to see the direction that you and President Trump have steered EPA under your Great American Comeback Initiative.'
“Thank you and President Trump for returning the EPA to its rightful role of protecting human health and cleaning up the environment, not an anti-jobs agency.
“It is refreshing to see the Trump Administration take a measured and thoughtful approach to regulation and enforcement, unlike under the previous Administration where the agency operated as a center for pushing uncompromising ideologies.
“The EPA under President Trump has closely followed its enabling statutes and not stretched the meaning of the law for the benefit of over-zealous activists.
“I commend you for taking a pragmatic approach to regulatory actions that closely uphold the laws the EPA is charged with enforcing.
“The EPA has done great work over this past year, from cleaning up sewage spills in California to expediting Superfund site closures and to clarifying Clean Air Act guidance.
“You were tasked with undoing the regulatory overreach of the Biden-Harris administration and refocusing EPA’s work and I believe you’re off to a good start.
“Also, I would like to take a moment to personally thank you and President Trump for prioritizing the rollback of blatantly anti-coal regulations that were churned out, on what seemed to me like a monthly basis, by the Biden-Harris EPA.
“Under your leadership, EPA finalized a repeal of the Obama Administration’s 2009 so-called greenhouse gas endangerment finding under the Clean Air Act, which led to a series of costly regulations that limited consumer choices.
“Over the past year, EPA has also worked to improve permitting guidance under the Clean Air Act.
“EPA has also prioritized actions to safeguard drinking water, including proposing to require monitoring of microplastics, PFAS, and pharmaceuticals under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
“Administrator you have also been successful in reining in the wasteful Green New Deal and DEI initiatives that characterized the Biden Administration.
“For fiscal year 2027, President Trump is requesting $4.2 billion in new budget authority for EPA.
“This budget proposal would provide more than $2.5 billion for EPA’s environmental managements programs, as well as almost $750 million in grant assistance for states and Tribes, more than $500 million for science and technology activities, and $290 million for Superfund site cleanup.
“Despite what our friends across the aisle may say, this is a significant amount of taxpayer dollars.
“It is important to remember that EPA received an exorbitant $100 billion in appropriations for fiscal years 2022 through 2026 from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.
“Such lavish funding levels, over 10 times the average historical EPA appropriation -- was intended to be a one-time, once-in-a-generation supplement, with much of the increased funding for specific water infrastructure and cleanup programs.
“Those appropriations were never intended to be the new normal for EPA funding.
“This budget request is fiscally responsible and focuses on infrastructure and distinct cleanup goals.
“The EPA’s budget request will continue to support EPA’s core programs and is in line with the limited legal authority and cooperative federalism framework that Congress envisioned for EPA.
“It is important for Congress to examine how the laws it enacts are working and whether they need to be amended or even repealed.
“When I was Chairman of the Environment Subcommittee, we began reviewing all of EPA’s statutory authorities.
“Chairman Palmer has continued this important work, by holding hearings and markups on reauthorizations for the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Brownfields law, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and by considering amendments to the Clean Air Act and the federal waste and recycling laws.
“Thank you again for coming before us today, Administrator Zeldin, I look forward to hearing about your priorities for EPA and how Congress can help ensure that we have clean air, clean water, and good jobs.”