AEA Joins With Over 40 Free Market Groups to Urge Passage of End of EPA Abuse Act of 2026

On Tuesday, July 14, 2026 the American Energy Alliance joined with over 40 other free market advocacy groups in sending a letter to members of Congress in support of the End of EPA Abuse Act of 2026. The group, lead by the Competitive Enterprise Group, is urging congressional leadership to pass the act immediately. The full text of the letter is available below:

Dear Member of Congress:

The undersigned organizations urge you to support the End EPA Abuse Act of 2026 (H.R. 9453 and S. 4931).

The bill, introduced by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) and supported by 20 state attorneys general, provides a great example of Congress reasserting its lawmaking power.

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 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,

* Affiliation listed for identification purposes only.