EPA Head Lee Zeldin Touts 'Energy Dominance' In Opening Remarks Before House Energy Committee

Forbes Breaking News

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Tuesday.

Transcript

00:00Thank you, Member Tonko and members of the subcommittee.

00:03Chairman Griffith, thank you for being such a great partner and ensuring that this committee

00:09is able to work closely with the EPA. That's very important. Thank you for the great work

00:14and leadership. It is an honor to appear before you today to discuss the President's fiscal year

00:192026 budget request for the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Since day

00:24one, EPA has swiftly moved to advance President Trump's directive to deliver clean air, land

00:30and water for all Americans while restoring common sense, accountability and cooperative

00:35federalism to environmental policy. We're fulfilling our core mission of protecting human health

00:41and the environment while powering the great American comeback and removing unnecessary

00:46barriers that have burdened American families and businesses for far too long. Since being

00:52sworn in as administrator, my team has hit the ground running. I've now traveled to 17 states

00:57across the country, engaging with our dedicated regional staff and scientists, visiting Superfund

01:03sites and brownfields, and listening to farmers, business owners and community residents who

01:09have had fantastic ideas on how the EPA can better work on their behalf. Immediately upon

01:15President Trump's inauguration, EPA completed the largest wildfire cleanup in agency history

01:21in less than 30 days after the catastrophic Los Angeles wildfires. We have taken bold steps to combat

01:28PFAS contamination and have advanced redevelopment at 21 Superfund sites across 13 states,

01:36delisting all or parts of four sites from the National Priorities List. We've also completed 25

01:42state implementation plans, 16 of which were backlogged from the prior administration.

01:47With this renewed focus and commitment, EPA is working for the American people. We are revising the

01:55definition of waters of the United States to align with the Supreme Court decision in SACET and have

02:01issued immediate action items for Mexico to permanently and urgently end the Tijuana River sewage crisis

02:07that has plagued Southern California for decades. Following my trip to St. Louis, we cut nearly two years from

02:14the cleanup timeline at the Westlake Superfund site, which has been contaminated by nuclear waste from

02:20the Manhattan Project. In fact, to mark the 100th day of the Trump presidency, EPA released a list of 100

02:28environmental actions we took during those first 100 days, a pace that motivates us to keep up each and

02:36every day. Together, these actions reflect the administration's commitment to environmental stewardship,

02:41cooperative federalism, and delivering results that make a real difference in people's lives.

02:47In lockstep with the President's agenda, EPA is also helping to unleash American energy, pursue permitting

02:54reform, make America the AI capital of the world, and bring back American auto jobs. We've eliminated

03:01waste and abuse in areas like the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, reversed unlawful overreach like the

03:08so-called good neighbor rule, and begun reconsidering many overreaching rules, including power

03:13plan and EV-related regulation that threaten grid reliability, energy affordability, and consumer choice.

03:21I'm proud of the monumental steps we took earlier this year towards energy dominance and expanding

03:27cooperative federalism. We were giving West Virginia and Arizona the primacy authority they have sought

03:32to protect groundwater and regulate themselves as other states have had for years. It is no secret that

03:39the best innovative solutions are often found by working with those most familiar with the challenges faced.

03:46These historic actions will reduce regulatory costs which act as invisible taxes on Americans,

03:53making it more affordable to own a car, heat homes, operate a business, and bring manufacturing back

04:00to local communities. By reducing the EPA's budget by billions of dollars, the President's FY 2026 budget

04:07demands maximum efficiency from the EPA while we continue to fulfill all of our statutory obligations.

04:15Also included in the President's proposal is an additional $9 million above FY 2025 enacted levels to equip

04:22EPA with funds to respond to drinking water disasters. There is also a $27 million increase in funding

04:30for tribes to address drinking water and wastewater infrastructure on their lands. At the Trump EPA,

04:36we will not view the status quo as a sacred cow that is untouchable. We will not consider the Biden-era

04:43regulations we inherited to be etched in stone, and we absolutely refuse to waste even a penny of tax

04:51dollars. With President Trump's leadership and the partnership of Congress, we will deliver measurable and

04:58real results, greater accountability, and a stronger environmental return on investment per dollar spent.

05:04I look forward to answering your questions. Thank you.

05:07Thank you, Administrator Zeldin.

Category

Transcript

Recommended