Rep. Summer Lee Denounces EPA’s Decision to Eliminate Endangerment Finding
PITTSBURGH, PA – FEBRUARY 12, 2026 — Today, Congresswoman Summer L. Lee (PA-12) denounced the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s decision to repeal the 2009 Endangerment Finding, the science-based determination that obligates the EPA to regulate climate pollution. Eliminating the Endangerment Finding would effectively undermine the foundation of federal climate policy, leave communities exposed to more pollution and extreme weather, and increase public health risks.
“The science on climate change remains unchanged: greenhouse gases are warming the planet, driving extreme weather, and threatening public health. The EPA’s decision to repeal the Endangerment Finding is nothing short of a reckless and harmful scheme to give polluters a blank check to continue poisoning our communities,” said Rep. Lee. “Pennsylvanians are already breathing dirtier air, suffering deadlier heat, and paying the price for more billion-dollar disasters, with frontline and environmental justice communities getting hit first and worst. This decision must be reversed immediately. We need stronger guardrails to hold polluters accountable, not an EPA that obfuscates its responsibility to protect public health and the planet.”
Last year, Rep. Lee led the Democratic Pennsylvania congressional delegation in calling on EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to withdraw his proposal to repeal the 2009 Endangerment Finding. She announced plans to launch the first-ever House People’s Environmental Justice Caucus, and she joined Pittsburgh leaders and members of communities throughout Pennsylvania and beyond who gathered to testify as part of The People’s Hearing Tour: Speak Easy, Speak Free–a national call for courage, care and collective action.
Congresswoman Summer Lee serves on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on Education and Workforce. Since taking office in January 2023, she has delivered historic levels of federal investment totaling over $2.7 Billion brought back to Western PA, including over $580 million for infrastructure, over $110 million for affordable transit, over $500 million to keep clean energy manufacturing at home in Pennsylvania, and over $55 million on clean energy efforts in and around schools to help keep our kids and communities safe. These investments will help improve Western Pennsylvania’s infrastructure and transit, ensure cleaner air and drinking water, lower housing costs, fund research institutions, fuel clean manufacturing, fund STEM innovation and entrepreneurship, boost workforce development, and create thousands of good paying union jobs. Lee and her team have also delivered casework and constituent services to over 3,000 constituents with issues ranging from helping our seniors and disabled community access Medicare and social security to helping folks secure housing and helping families with immigration support and passports.