Environment Subcommittee Holds Hearing on the EPA FY2027 Budget

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Morgan Griffith (VA-09), led a hearing titled The Fiscal Year 2027 Environmental Protection Agency Budget.

“Today’s hearing provided the opportunity to discuss the EPA’s budget request,” said Congressman Griffith. “Over the past year, under the leadership of Administrator Zeldin, EPA has returned to its rightful role of protecting human health and cleaning up the environment while powering the great American comeback.”

Watch the full hearing here.

Below are key excerpts from today’s hearing:

Congressman Buddy Carter (GA-01): “One of the regulations that's been devastating for our nation and for the growth of our nation in manufacturing has been the unworkable PM 2.5 standard — particulate matter. As you know, the Biden-Harris Administration made some significant changes to this, and it's caused a lot of businesses not to be able to locate in areas that they'd like to locate in. It's something that we're trying to address here in this committee. This made it more difficult to create jobs, to build cutting-edge factories, and to lead the world in the development of new products that we know we need to be doing. Can you provide us with an update on where the agency stands to revisit and revise this rule?”

Administrator Zeldin: “The Trump Administration is no longer defending the unlawful 2024 Biden PM 2.5 NAAQS rule. This was a necessary decision that we made because the previous administration's actions were discretionary and didn't align with the statutory obligations of the Clean Air Act. EPA is remaining hopeful that the D.C. Circuit will soon release a decision on that.”

Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11): “The Biden-Harris EPA imposed trillions of dollars in regulatory costs based on wildly inflated benefit calculations, assigning speculative dollar values to statistical lives while ignoring the real-world consequences of making energy unaffordable. Twenty-five million American households have reported going without food or medicine to pay their energy bills. That is the human cost of regulatory excess.

“This EPA is doing what the agency is supposed to do — rigorous, honest cost-benefit analysis, not rubber-stamping regulations that strangle reliable energy production while claiming to save lives on a spreadsheet. Affordable, reliable energy is the foundation of American health and safety. And Administrator Zeldin, your reforms are protecting Americans — not by speculating about benefits, but by delivering them.”

Congressman John James (MI-10): “The United States, and especially states like Michigan — manufacturers and producers of energy — we make energy cleaner and safer and more responsibly than anyone else in the world. That's a competitive advantage. We should be leaning into that competitive advantage, not regulating our way out of existence.

“Over the past several years, we've seen a growing trend, and from the previous administration, from the Whitmer administration in Lansing, toward theoretical, one-size-fits-all regulations that look good on paper but don't work in the real world. These mandates too often strangle businesses, delay projects indefinitely, and make it nearly impossible to build, invest, and innovate right here at home. At a time when we're competing with China, who's not playing by the same environmental or economic rules, the last thing we should be doing is tying our own hands.”