Urge Congress to Restore EPA's 2009 Endangerment Finding on Greenhouse Gases

The EPA's recent rescission of the 2009 Endangerment Finding represents a dangerous rejection of scientific evidence and threatens both public health and America's clean energy economy. This finding, which established that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare, served as the legal foundation for regulating carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act for nearly two decades. Its elimination removes the statutory basis for federal carbon emission regulations and clean energy support programs. The scientific case for this finding has only strengthened since 2009. Chris Field, Director of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, confirmed that evidence for greenhouse gas risks has dramatically increased over the past fifteen years. Yet Administrator Lee Zeldin dismissed the original finding as a "legal fiction," prioritizing deregulation over the health and safety of American families. The immediate consequences are severe. The administration has already moved to claw back $7 billion from the Solar for All program. Industry analysts warn that without the Endangerment Finding, legal challenges to Inflation Reduction Act provisions become more viable, particularly those framed as climate pollution reduction grants. If greenhouse gases are no longer legally classified as threats, opponents can argue the EPA lacks authority to prioritize clean energy over fossil fuels. This policy shift creates dangerous uncertainty that will stifle private investment in solar and clean energy sectors. Combined with compressed tax credit deadlines under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which now requires wind and solar facilities to begin construction before July 5, 2026, the American clean energy industry faces an existential threat. Congress must act immediately to restore the scientific integrity of EPA determinations. I urge you to introduce or support legislation that codifies the Endangerment Finding and protects EPA research from political interference. Scientific evidence, not ideology, must guide decisions affecting public health and our climate future. The Environmental Defense Fund and state attorneys general are preparing legal challenges, but Congressional action provides the most direct path to protecting both American health and our clean energy economy.