LaMalfa Applauds EPA Move to Repeal Obama-Era CO₂ Finding and Restore Consumer Choice
Washington, D.C.—Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) released the following statement praising the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal to repeal the so-called 2009 Endangerment Finding, a rule established in the first year of the Obama era. This ruling has served as the legal foundation for more than $1 trillion in greenhouse gas emission regulations, including the Biden Administration’s electric vehicle mandates, and many other new regulations on lawn mowers, gas stoves, and more.
If finalized, the proposal would eliminate EPA’s authority under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon dioxide and five other “greenhouse gas” emissions from new motor vehicles and engines—removing sweeping mandates that limited consumer choice, strained supply chains, and raised costs on nearly every product that moves by truck.
“This is long overdue. CO₂ is not a pollutant, it’s a basic building block of life. Plants can’t survive without it, and the 0.04% we are currently at is nowhere near a threat to the planet,” said Rep. LaMalfa. “The Earth has seen far higher CO₂ levels long before the invention of the SUV. The 2009 Endangerment Finding twisted the law to give unelected bureaucrats the power to dictate lifestyles, driving up costs and force working Americans into electric vehicles they don’t want and can’t afford. This repeal puts the brakes on that nonsense and gets us back to real-world thinking. I applaud President Trump and Administrator Zeldin for putting the American people’s choices back in the driver’s seat.”
Background on the 2009 Endangerment Finding
The Endangerment Finding, issued by the Obama EPA in 2009, concluded that carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases “endanger” public health and welfare. That determination ostensibly gave EPA broad authority to regulate vehicle emissions under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act, even though the statute was never intended to regulate climate policy.
Since then, the Endangerment Finding has been used to justify seven vehicle and engine emissions rules, including EV mandates and efficiency standards, that have collectively imposed more than $1 trillion in compliance costs on businesses and families. These mandates were enacted without proper evaluation of their real-world economic impact, technical feasibility, or affordability, particularly in rural and working-class areas.
Recent Supreme Court decisions have reinforced that sweeping regulatory actions must originate from Congress, not from executive branch agencies unilaterally reinterpreting the law.
EPA’s new proposal, based on updated scientific and economic data, would roll back greenhouse gas standards for light, medium, and heavy-duty vehicles and engines. The agency estimates this move could save Americans $54 billion annually.
The proposal will be open for public comment.
Congressman Doug LaMalfa is Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus and a lifelong farmer representing California’s First Congressional District, including Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Shasta, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama and Yuba Counties.
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