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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Morgan Griffith (VA-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Environment, led a hearing titled The Fiscal Year 2026 Environmental Protection Agency Budget .  “ Our national security, our economic competitiveness, the health of our families, and strength of our communities all depend on an EPA that is working hard and efficiently for the American people ,” said Chairman Griffith. “After four years of economically disastrous, legally questionable, and expensive policies of the Biden-Harris Administration, it is a welcome sight to see President Trump and Administrator Zeldin focused on rebuilding the American economy and fixing the problems of the previous administration .”   Watch the full hearing here .   Below are key excerpts from today’s hearing: Congressman Bob Latta (OH-05): “For far too long, the EPA has ballooned well beyond its original scope. Over time, the agency has amassed sweeping regulatory powers that increasingly bypass legislative oversight. What does that leave us with? High costs for the taxpayer, burdensome, unworkable regulatory conditions for industry, stifled innovation and manufacturing, and energy insecurity with decreased domestic production, high costs, and federal overreach for our energy mix. We had heard extensive testimony from industrial leaders across the board that the Biden Administration’s EPA stands for is technologically unfeasible. President Trump proposed a discretionary budget that decreases the EPA budget by over half of last year's budget, making many commonsense reforms to spend American taxpayer dollars in thoughtful ways to effectively improve our environment. What are your thoughts, especially when we hear from the industry that the Biden-Harris Administration’s EPA would come up with some kind of a standard—that there was no existing technology to even meet—but they were demanding that it be done? In a lot of cases, it was just going to put businesses out of business, because they couldn't meet these standards. So, how do you see the EPA dealing in with issues like this in the future?” Administrator Zeldin: “We inherited a lot of regulations that were enacted in 2023, 2024 seeking to strangulate the economy, choosing to suffocate the economy as if it's a binary choice between protecting the environment and growing the economy. The Trump EPA chooses both.” Congressman Jay Obernolte (CA-23): “I wanted to ask you specifically about a concern I have about some of the reductions in force that have been occurring at the EPA, and I understand this is out of desire to right size the agency – that’s something I certainly am very supportive of that. However, many agencies rely on the EPA to do things like issue permits or issue approvals or review plans, and there has been concern expressed that the reductions in force, even though we're transforming the EPA into a more streamlined organization, will result in delays in those approvals and permits getting issued. Can you give us some assurances that that is not the intention?” Administrator Zeldin: “ Congressman, yes, we are going to fulfill all of our statutory obligations, and the way that the reorganization was proposed a couple of weeks ago allows us to better focus on those statutory obligations and reduce the backlogs. So, for example, as I referenced earlier with a couple of your colleagues, we inherited a massive backlog with the pesticide review, a massive backlog with chemical review with state implementation plans with small refinery exemptions, and much more. We are putting resources into getting through those backlogs we inherited as quickly as possible. And, with the pesticide review backlog as one of the examples, we have already worked through over 2,300 of those backlogged cases. We'll continue at that pace, and we're taking measures to increase the pace of working through the backlog we inherited.” Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak (ND-AL): “One of the first actions I took in this role was to write to President Trump and Secretary Burgum to ask them to repeal 20 burdensome rules and regulations from the previous administration – and you're well on your way to doing that. You have outlined a number of grave abuses from the last administration, and I would say one of the gravest abuses was the impact the past administration had on our power sector. I come from the regulatory side of things. I was the most recently the president of the National Utility regulators Association, and in that role, I worked hard to get the last administration to be reasonable on their 111D rules. They completely ignored everything we said. They ignored the power grid operators, and that rule was completely disconnected from reality. Even though it's being pulled back, it had grave consequences on our power grid, and today we are short or dangerously short of having enough power to meet demand because of that agency's overreach in the last administration. So, thank you for your commitment to correcting that and getting us back on track.” Administrator Zeldin: “I often get asked what the biggest surprise or what was most shocking. Once I was confirmed as administrator, and I would say it was surprising how much we were able to do at once. We've heard your calls for action at the agency and we want to tackle it all at the same time. We don't want to pace ourselves.” ###

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment held a hearing titled Maximizing Opportunities for Redeveloping Brownfields Sites: Assessing the Potential for New American Innovation . “The Brownfields Program supports communities impacted by prior industrial activity, offering them a new opportunity to spur growth and innovation. As the program continues to work to clean up areas that have been contaminated, we can leverage these sites to construct, among other things, data centers critical to advancing Artificial Intelligence,” said Chairman Griffith. “Today's hearing was an important step toward ensuring that the Brownfields Program continues to serve the American people by assessing and cleaning up potential contamination and supporting new and emerging industries.” Watch the full hearing here . Below are key excerpts from today’s hearing: Representative Bob Latta (OH-05): “What do we need to be doing on permitting to move things along and get things moving faster? This a great thing about this Committee, the broad jurisdiction we have. I've never heard anybody ever testify before saying that they're against our regulations. Just give us regulations so we can live with. But what do you see on the permitting side that we ought to be doing right now?”  Hon. James L. Connaughton: “You know, what's interesting is we had all the big infrastructure projects, data centers, semiconductors, by the way, even shipbuilding. They actually don't have a big outward environmental footprint. There's a lot of things to comply with, OK, but all the methods of controlling to prevent environmental contamination are well known and in place. And so, if we could simply change the default to yes. With inspection and enforcement of noncompliance, which almost never occurs, that solves the problem. And you do it in site assessment, you do it in permitting, and you do it with interconnection. You have to create an automated system.” Representative John Joyce (PA-13): “In Pennsylvania, we are proud of our industries. The coal, the steel, and allied industries that were mined and forged in our cities and in our towns. Sadly, many of these legacy industries have fallen on hard times and gone out of business, leaving behind land in need of environmental cleanup and communities with limited resources. to invest in that necessary redevelopment. This is where EPA's Brownfields Program has been useful to ensure that these are areas that are not left behind, and economic development can occur. Across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, counties like Cambria and Blair have used brownfields to leverage public and private funding to create family sustaining jobs. This program is a great example of how instead of federal government getting in the way with burdensome regulations, it can work with local stakeholders to spur lasting redevelopment.” Representative August Pfluger (TX-11): “I represent a very rural district but one that has a tremendous amount of energy. One that could benefit very greatly, but we see more of an urge to show some or to do urban projects rather than rural. So maybe talk to me a little bit about some of the barriers that have impacted us in the rural community.” Mr. Duane Miller: “I'm a big believer in our rural areas. We kind of view them as a blank canvas… I really think a concise effort should be put on the recruitment of data centers to rural areas through this brownfield funding.” ###

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Yesterday, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, along with Congressman Bob Latta (OH-05), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy, penned a letter to Secretary Jennifer Granholm questioning the Department of Energy’s involvement in the Biden-Harris Administration’s decision to prevent new offshore oil and gas production, leading to higher prices for consumers and harming U.S. energy security. KEY LETTER EXCERPT: “Closing off swaths of U.S. offshore areas to energy production, as the Biden-Harris Administration reportedly intends to do, will lead to higher energy prices for American families, the loss of American jobs, and greatly diminish our country’s energy security. As the Secretary of Energy, you have an obligation to weigh in on this matter and insist on a full review of the energy security and economic impacts before any decisions are finalized. “The United States stands at an energy crossroads, facing mounting global security threats and soaring demand for power. Instead of leading the world in energy production, we’ve allowed misguided “green” policies to hamstring our potential. It’s time to unleash American energy dominance again—the federal government must become an ally, not an obstacle, to our nation’s energy security. We look forward to your prompt response to this request, no later than January 10, 2025.” Read the story  here . BACKGROUND: This morning, the Biden Administration announced that more than 625 million square miles of coastline would be off-limits for energy production. Republican Members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce have continuously called on the Biden-Harris Administration to end its attack on American energy production before leaving office on January 20th. The letter requests an explanation of the DOE’s involvement in the decision and whether the White House or the Department of Interior consulted with the DOE about the plans to close off access to offshore resources. Any decision to shut down access to significant American energy resources impacts U.S. energy policy and should be reviewed by the DOE. The Biden Administration’s energy policies have continued to create major harm to America’s energy production and workforce. A unilateral ban on energy production in large swaths of the U.S. coastline will have lasting impacts on American energy production and security.

Washington D.C. — Energy and Commerce Republicans are leading to stop the Biden-Harris administration from imposing unaffordable electric vehicle mandates that will jeopardize our auto industry and hand China the keys to our energy future. Members spoke on the House Floor in support of H.J. Res. 136, led by Rep. John James (R-MI), which passed the House with a bipartisan vote of 215-191. The legislation will end the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) unrealistic tailpipe emissions rule, which, by the EPA’s own admission, would effectively require at least two-thirds of all new cars in the United States to be electric by 2032. As Chair Rodgers said , “Over and over again, the Biden-Harris Environmental Protection Agency has doubled down on its radical rush-to-green energy agenda. The EPA’s latest tailpipe emissions rule is not really about reducing air pollution—it’s about forcing Americans to drive electric vehicles.” Don’t miss these key moments from E&C Republicans:

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Ranking Member Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), and Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) led 26 of their colleagues in filing a bicameral amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit in support of state and industry challengers to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) so-called “Good Neighbor” air rule that targets American power production and burdens states with misguided air regulations. “Acting well beyond its delegated powers under the [Clean Air Act], EPA’s Rule proposes to remake the energy sector in the affected states toward the Agency’s preferred ends. The Rule is part of the broader joint EPA-White House Strategy that oversteps the Agency’s authority by concurrently developing regulations under three separate environmental statutes. It does so not to meet any of the statutes’ individual ends but to transform the power sector. "The group of regulations—including the Rule—are designed to hurriedly rid the U.S. power sector of fossil fuels by sharply increasing the operating costs for fossil fuel-fired power plant operators, forcing the plants’ premature retirement,” the brief reads in part. BACKGROUND: The so-called “Good Neighbor” rule imposes overreaching emissions requirements on power plants, natural gas pipeline assets, and industrial plants, like steel, cement, and paper production facilities in 23 states. Other federal courts have already frozen implementation of the rule in 12 states. Despite active Supreme Court proceedings that may halt implementation of the rule nationwide, the EPA has remained committed to the illegal rule and recently proposed to add five more states to the program.  In June 2023 , Capito joined Wicker in introducing a formal challenge to the rule through a Congressional Review Act (CRA) joint resolution of disapproval.  In June 2023, Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX) also introduced H.J.Res. 69, a formal challenge to the rule through a Congressional Review Act (CRA) joint resolution of disapproval.  In June 2022 , Ranking Member Capito sent a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan outlining serious concerns with the proposed “Good Neighbor Plan.”  Ranking Member Capito has criticized the EPA’s proposed “Good Neighbor Plan” during EPW hearings in March 2023 , July 2022 , and May 2022 , and in an op-ed .  In November 2023 , Chairs Rodgers, Duncan, and Johnson sent a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission expressing concerns with the impact of EPA’s suite of rules, including the “Good Neighbor” Rule (or Interstate Transport Rule), on the reliability of the nation’s electric grid. In addition to Capito and Wicker, senators who signed on to brief include, John Barrasso, (R-WY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Boozman (R-AR), Mike Braun (R-IN), John Cornyn (R-TX), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Steve Daines (R-MT), Deb Fischer (R-NE), John Hoeven (R-ND), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Cynthia M. Lummis (R-WY), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Jim Risch (R-ID), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), and John Thune (R-SD). In addition to Rodgers, House members who signed on to the brief include, Rick Allen (R-GA), Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), Troy Balderson (R-OH), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Larry Bucshon (R-IN), Michael Burgess (R-TX), Kat Cammack (R-FL), Earl “Buddy” Carter (R-GA), Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), John Curtis (R-UT), Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Neal Dunn (R-FL), Russ Fulcher (R-ID), Morgan Griffith (R-VA), Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Diana Harshbarger (R-TN), Richard Hudson (R-NC), John James (R-MI), John Joyce (R-PA), Bob Latta (R-OH), Debbie Lesko (R-AZ), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), Jay Obernolte (R-CA), Gary Palmer (R-AL), Greg Pence (R-IN), August Pfluger (R-TX), Tim Walberg (R-MI), and Randy Weber (R-TX).  Full text of the brief is available here .

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) today announced a Full Committee markup. The Committee will consider legislation from the Energy, Climate, and Grid Security; Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials; Health; and Communications and Technology subcommittees.  Chair Rodgers released the following statements:  On the Energy and Environment bills:  “The Energy and Commerce Committee has a rich history of enacting solutions that improve people’s livelihoods and freedom, all while maintaining America’s global energy and environmental leadership. We look forward to building on this legacy with solutions that modernize our pipeline infrastructure, enhance air quality standards and public health, and ensure Americans are free to choose the home appliances that work best for their lives.”  On the Health bills: “Americans are counting on us to deliver on bipartisan solutions that will help improve their health and wellbeing. We’re proud of the hard work that Members both on and off the Energy and Commerce Committee have done to bring forth these proposals to support patients and caregivers across America.”  On the Communications and Technology bills:  “In order to win the future, it is vital that our communications networks are secure. Continuing to rely on technology sourced from foreign adversaries jeopardizes people’s homes, schools, hospitals, our financial system, and the military. That is why Energy and Commerce Republicans are leading on solutions to remove dangerous equipment from our communications infrastructure and help cement America's technological and economic leadership for generations to come.”   WHAT: A Full Committee Markup of 28 bills.  DATE: Wednesday, March 20, 2024   TIME: 10:00 AM ET  LOCATION: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building   Legislation to be considered :  H.R. 7655 , Pipeline Safety, Modernization, and Expansion Act of 2024 (Rep. Duncan)  H.R. 7673 , Liberty in Laundry Act (Rep. Ogles)  H.R. 7645 , Clothes Dryers Reliability Act (Rep. Ezell)   H.R. 7637 , Refrigerator Freedom Act (Rep. Miller-Meeks)   H.R. 7626 , Affordable Air Conditioning Act (Rep. Crenshaw)   H.R. 7700 , Stop Unaffordable Dishwasher Standards (SUDS) Act (Rep. Langworthy) H.R. 7650 , Air Quality Standards Implementation Act of 2024 (Rep. Carter) H.R. 619 , NAPA Reauthorization Act (Rep. Tonko) H.R. 620 , Alzheimer’s Accountability and Investment Act (Rep. C. Smith)  H.R. 7218 , Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act of 2024 (Rep. Guthrie)  H.R. 4581 , Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act of 2024 (Rep. Hinson)    H.R. 2706 , Charlotte Woodward Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention Act (Rep. Cammack)   H.R. 4646 , SIREN Reauthorization Act (Rep. D. Joyce)  H.R. 6160 , To amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize a lifespan respite care program (Rep. Molinaro)  H.R. 6960 , Emergency Medical Services for Children Reauthorization Act of 2024 (Rep. Carter)    H.R. 7153 , Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Reauthorization Act (Rep. Wild)  H.R. 7251 , Poison Control Centers Reauthorization Act of 2024 (Rep. Chavez-DeRemer)  H.R. 7224 , To amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize the Stop, Observe, Ask, and Respond to Health and Wellness Training Program (Rep. Cohen)  H.R. 7208 , Dennis John Beningo Traumatic Brain Injury Program Reauthorization Act of 2024 (Rep. Pascrell)   H.R. 6829 , Cardiomyopathy Health Education, Awareness, and Research, and AED Training in the Schools (HEARTS) Act of 2024 (Rep. Pallone)    H.R. 7189 , Congenital Heart Futures Reauthorization Act of 2024 (Rep. Bilirakis)  H.R. 7406 , DeOndra Dixon INCLUDE Project Act of 2024 (Rep. McMorris Rodgers)  H.R. 3916 , SCREENS for Cancer Act of 2024 (Rep. Morelle)    H.R. 5074 , Kidney PATIENT Act (Rep. Carter)  H.R. 2864 , Countering CCP Drones Act (Rep. Stefanik)  H.R. 820 , Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency Act (Rep. Stefanik)  H.R. 1513 , Future Uses of Technology Upholding Reliable and Enhancing (FUTURE) Networks Act (Rep. Matsui)  H.R. 7589 , Removing Our Unsecure Technologies to Ensure Reliability and Security (ROUTERS) Act (Rep. Latta)  This notice is at the direction of the Chair. The hearing will be open to the public and press and will be live streamed online at https://energycommerce.house.gov/ . If you have any questions concerning the hearing, please contact Kaitlyn Peterson with the Committee staff at Kaitlyn.Peterson@mail.house.gov . If you have any press-related questions, please contact Sean Kelly at Sean.Kelly@mail.house.gov and Christopher Krepich at Christopher.Krepich@mail.house.gov . 

Decision comes at the expense of America's energy security, jobs, and economy President Biden’s LNG export “pause” is a blatant political decision to appease his radical base at the expense of American energy security and the security of our allies. As Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) said , “This is another gift to Putin.” Our European allies are desperately seeking American energy to counter Russia’s weaponization of its natural gas exports. In December 2023, more than 87 percent of U.S. LNG exports went to the European Union, United Kingdom, or Asian markets. President Biden’s LNG export pause weakens global energy security and undercuts our efforts to help Europe reduce its reliance on Russian energy.  If President Biden were serious about his rush-to-green agenda, he would unleash the production and export of clean, affordable, and reliable American LNG—which has roughly 40 percent lower lifecycle emissions than Russian LNG. American LNG has allowed us to reduce emissions more than any other nation, and we have the capacity to continue helping countries reduce their emissions even further.   Studies show that LNG exports could add upwards of $73 billion to the U.S. economy by 2040, create upwards of 453,000 American jobs, and increase U.S. held purchasing power by $30 billion. President Biden’s decision to pause LNG exports jeopardizes all of this—Congress must act to reverse this decision.   Don’t miss what Energy and Commerce Republicans are saying:

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Subcommittee Chair Jeff Duncan (R-SC), and Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials Subcommittee Chair Bill Johnson (R-OH) sent a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chair and Commissioners regarding the risks posed to the country’s electric grid by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan 2.0 proposal and other power plant regulatory actions.   This letter—which was sent on behalf of both the Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Subcommittee and the Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials Subcommittee Republicans—comes ahead of FERC’s 2023 Annual Reliability Technical Conference on Thursday, November 9, 2023. A significant focus of this conference will be on the EPA’s Clean Power Plan 2.0 proposal that could have a severe negative effect on electric reliability in the U.S.  KEY EXCERPT:   "The voices expressing concern to the Committee about the reliability of the nation’s electric grid continue to grow in number and in volume, from States to grid operators to utilities. Many of those concerns stem from the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) suite of regulations on the power sector, self-branded the 'EGU Strategy' by the EPA […] If we continue to retire and force the closure of dispatchable electric generation – like coal, natural gas, and nuclear – and fail to replace it with comparable dispatchable generation, the instability and precariousness of the U.S. electric grid will increase.    "Given the looming threats to reliability from EPA regulations, the importance of this year’s Annual Reliability Technical Conference cannot be overstated. A major focus of this technical conference is proposed regulations that have a severe negative effect on electric reliability. It is appropriate and necessary that Federal Energy Regulatory Commission step up and evaluate the impact of EPA proposals." BACKGROUND:   Under the Clean Power Plan 2.0, the EPA has introduced policy proposals to set strict, costly, and untested standards on both new and existing natural gas and remaining coal generators.   These changes will have a chilling effect on American natural gas and coal—which account for about 60 percent of U.S. electricity generation—making life unaffordable for Americans and increasing risks for blackouts.    Energy and Commerce Committee members heard from seven Regional Transmission Organizations and Independent System Operators (RTOs/ISOs) at a hearing in September, who overwhelmingly agreed that these proposed regulations from the EPA threaten to force retirement of a substantial share of their power generation sources.  Further, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), who will be participating in the reliability conference, has also noted in recent studies that large swaths of the U.S. are under threat of blackout risks in the coming months and years.  The letter reinforces a growing number of concerns expressed to the committee that the EPA failed to perform adequate and thorough analysis of the impacts of its policy proposals on electric reliability and strongly encourages FERC to take action to ensure these misguided policies do not further undermine reliability.  The Chairs asked the FERC Chair and Commissioners to respond to the following questions:  In light of the importance of FERC’s upcoming technical conference on reliability, including the Clean Power Plan 2.0 proposal, and the information the Commission will gather at the conference, will FERC commit to requesting that the EPA open up a supplemental comment period for the proposed Clean Power Plan 2.0?   Given the electric grid reliability obligations of FERC and NERC, will FERC ensure that the information from its upcoming technical conference be added to the docket in the EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan 2.0?  FERC’s November 9, 2023, technical conference does not include comparable and sufficient time allotments for all stakeholders, including States, Public Utility Commissions, and utilities. Will FERC commit to hosting an additional technical conference on the Clean Power Plan 2.0 proposal, providing more time for the Commissioners to hear from the various stakeholders?  Will FERC commit to having a technical conference(s) on the other rules (proposed and final) or actions in the EPA’s EGU Strategy, in order to examine their impacts on our electric grid?   Please describe any communications you have had with the EPA on the Clean Power Plan 2.0 proposal, as well as any of the proposed or final rules or actions in the EPA’s EGU Strategy.  CLICK HERE to read the full letter. 

Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act passes House with Bipartisan Vote of 222-190 Washington D.C. —  Today, the House of Representatives took action on the  Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act  to protect America’s automotive future and stop California and President Biden from dictating the vehicles Americans can drive. The bill, led by Energy and Commerce Member John Joyce (R-PA), passed the house by a bipartisan vote of 222-190. As Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) said , “Gas-powered cars are much less expensive than EVs and continue to outperform them in range, towing capacity, and their ability to operate in severe weather conditions.”  Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials Subcommittee Chair Bill Johnson (R-OH) added , “If California is granted that EPA waiver, 17 states, representing 40% of the US market for new vehicles, are poised to adopt California’s exact standards. This would result in California effectively forcing their values and their mandates on all of us.” Rep. John Joyce said , “At its core, the vote on H.R. 1435 asks a very simple question: should consumers or the federal government decide what types of vehicles Americans can drive?”