“It is time to stop the EPA from acting like an economic planning agency and instead get it focused on its mission of environmental protection.” (Coalition letter, below)
Executive Orders reflect the party in power. Congress sets the rules for administrative agencies. To this end, a group of 40 free market groups led by the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) sent a coalition letter in support of legislation to reign in the overly politicized, climate-activist U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The proposed legislation, End of EPA Abuse Act of 2026 ( S. 4931 and H.R. 9453), was introduced by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) respectively, with support from twenty state attorneys general.
The letter follows:
Dear Member of Congress:
The undersigned organizations urge you to support the End EPA Abuse Act of 2026 (H.R. 9453 and S. 4931)….
Lawmakers often rightfully criticize federal agency overreach, but rarely are laws passed to stop this overreach. This new bill takes important action and, specifically, it establishes guardrails on the EPA’s use of the Clean Air Act. In recent years, the EPA has sought to expand its CAA authority to levels that defy common sense and the will of Congress. The agency has tried to use the CAA to help kill off gas-powered cars. This includes the Biden administration’s de facto electric vehicle mandate, with an agency estimated compliance cost of a staggering $760 billion. Beyond the cost of the rule is the incredible attack on individual freedom and the harm imposed on the mobility of Americans.
The agency has repeatedly tried to act like the nation’s grid manager through rules that would change how we produce electricity. Threats to the grid and increases in electricity prices have received little to no consideration in the development of the rules.
While President Trump and his appointees at the EPA have done an admirable job using executive authority to try and stop or reverse some of the agency’s While President Trump and his appointees at the EPA have done an admirable job using executive authority to try and stop or reverse some of the agency’s most egregious abuses, there is still plenty of litigation to follow and the fact remains that these important reforms could be undone by a future administration with different views of the law.
Unless Congress does something, the EPA will continue to push well beyond the boundaries of its CAA authority and take its chances in court. The Supreme Court did strike down the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan, but expecting the judicial branch to stop all the abuses is unwise and ignores the lawmaking role that Congress has under the U.S. Constitution.
The End EPA Abuse Act expressly prohibits regulations that would lead to the very abuses that we have already seen, such as rules that would help kill off gas-powered cars or require power plants to change how they produce electricity. Since every future abuse is not foreseeable, the bill has a catch-all provision that prohibits the EPA from issuing rules that would significantly expand its authority beyond the intent of Congress.
The bill does not limit the agency from fulfilling its mission of protecting the environment. However, it does limit the agency from using that mission as a pretext for usurping legislative power by developing, on its own, new public policy of vast economic and societal consequence.
Our organizations commend Sen. Lee, Rep. Clyde, and the current co-sponsors and urge you to join them in making passage of this bill a high priority, by co-sponsoring and moving it quickly through the legislative process.
It is time to stop the EPA from acting like an economic planning agency and instead get it focused on its mission of environmental protection.
Sincerely,
Daren Bakst, Director, Center for Energy & Environment, Competitive Enterprise Institute
James L. Martin, Founder/Chairman, 60 Plus Association
Kevin Dayaratna, Vice President, Institute for Statistical Policy Analysis, Advancing American Freedom
Lisa B. Nelson, CEO, ALEC Action
John Droz, Jr., Founder, AWED (Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions)
Amy Cooke, President, Always On Energy Research
Saulius “Saul” Anuzis, President, American Association of Senior Citizens
Dick Patten, President, American Business Defense Council
Phil Kerpen, President, American Commitment
Kristen Walker, Senior Policy Analyst and Manager for Energy and Transportation, The American Consumer Institute
Thomas Pyle, President, American Energy Alliance
Hon. Jason Isaac, President, American Energy Association
Myron Ebell, Chairman-elect, American Lands Council
Margaret Byfield, Executive Director, American Stewards of Liberty
Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform
Ryan Ellis, President, Center for a Free Economy
Daniel J. Mitchell, President, Center for Freedom and Prosperity
Jeffrey Mazzella, President, Center for Individual Freedom
John Hinderaker, President, Center of the American Experiment
Elizabeth Stelle, Vice President of Policy, Commonwealth Foundation for Public Policy Alternatives
Matthew Kandrach, President, Consumer Action for a Strong Economy
E. Calvin Beisner, Ph.D., President, Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation Kristen A. Ullman, President, Eagle Forum
Craig Richardson, President, Energy & Environment Legal Institute (E&E Legal)
George Landrith, President, Frontiers of Freedom
Cameron Sholty, Executive Director, Heartland Impact
Steve Chartan, Executive Vice President, Heritage Action
James Taylor, President, The Heartland Institute
Mario H. Lopez, President, Hispanic Leadership Fund
Gabriella Hoffman, Director, Center for Energy and Conservation, Independent Women’s Voice
Andrew Langer, President, Institute for Liberty
Jon Sanders, Director of the Center for Food, Power, and Life, The John Locke Foundation
Seton Motley, President, Less Government Brandon Arnold, Executive Vice President, National Taxpayers Union
Jeff Reynolds, Senior Investigative Researcher, Restoration of America Foundation
Paul Gessing, President, Rio Grande Foundation
Bette Grande, CEO, President, Roughrider Institute
Kenneth Haapala, President, The Science and Environmental Policy Project (SEPP)
James E. Enstrom, PhD, MPH, President, Scientific Integrity Institute
Patrick M. Brenner, President and CEO, Southwest Public Policy Institute
David Williams, President, Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Jenny Beth Martin, Honorary Chairman, Tea Party Patriots Action
Benjamin Zycher, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute (affiliation listed for identification purposes only)