Press Releases

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Today, Indiana Representative Mark Messmer (R-IN) joined Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright to celebrate EPA's announcement to repeal an unscientific, Obama-era policy initiative used to strangle American businesses.

“The Endangerment Finding has long been a Democrat tool to issue burdensome regulations that ignore commonsense science in pursuit of radical Green New Deal aligned agendas,” said Rep. Messmer. “I applaud Secretary Wright, Administrator Zeldin, and the entire Trump Administration for making sure we cut the red tape that is unnecessarily impeding American business, while also preserving our nation's precious natural resources.”

The 2009 Endangerment Finding served as the foundation of the Biden Administration's radical climate rules platform, which has been muting U.S. energy potential, killing job opportunities, and costing Americans more money.

By embracing credible scientific policies over Green New Deal senselessness, the Trump Administration has taken a bold step in protecting Hoosier businesses and all Americans from massive federal overreach.

BACKGROUND:

"In 2007, the Supreme Court in Massachusetts v. EPA ruled that the George W. Bush EPA erred when in 2003 it denied a petition to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from new motor vehicles that the petitioners argued were causing climate change. Massachusetts held that the Clean Air Act’s general, Act-wide definition of “air pollutant” was broad enough to include carbon dioxide. Massachusetts explicitly did not hold that EPA was required to regulate these emissions from these sources.

When the Court sent the matter back to the EPA, the agency proceeded in an unorthodox manner.  By slicing and dicing the language of the statute, it made an “endangerment finding” totally separate from any actual rule-making, which set high standards for car emissions.  The EPA argued it had the authority to do this because Congress had not specifically forbid it from taking this approach. Thus, the Endangerment Finding intentionally ignored the high costs of regulations or any policy implications that would inevitably follow."  

For further background on the history of the Endangerment Finding, click here.

To learn more about how Rep. Messmer is supporting Hoosier producers and consumers in Indiana’s 8th Congressional District, click here.

###