Congress passing ARC-ES is the natural follow-up to EPA’s rejection of the endangerment finding
March 9, 2026
By Gary Abernathy
When the Environmental Protection Agency announced last month the rescission of the so-
called “endangerment finding” under the Clean Air Act, it was predictably met with doomsday
pronouncements from the radical left, including from leading far-left media figures.
One of the more over-the-top reactions came from ABC World News Tonight anchor David Muir,
who led his network’s report on the topic by declaring, “Tonight, President Trump has repealed U.S.
power to regulate climate in this country. The president officially rejecting the science. And what this now clears the way for. Critics tonight arguing this is not only dangerous for the environment but for your health.”
The most outrageous laugh-out-loud notion expressed by Muir is that the U.S. or any other
nation has ever had the “power to regulate climate,” an example of the God-like attributes that liberals assign to themselves. At most, mankind can do things to lower air pollution and keep water clean. But it cannot, has never been able to, and will never find a way to “regulate climate.”
Earth’s climate is based on conditions of atmosphere, oceans, solar energy and geological forces
that go back to the beginning of time. Climate is beyond our control. It sometimes changes,
incrementally and slowly, as evidenced by ice ages and warming trends.
But our climate is literally a force of nature, not something within the power of any group or
nation to regulate with legislation. It is the height of humanistic arrogance and ignorance to suggest that any nation could possibly “repeal the power to regulate climate in this country.”
Regulating emissions or other byproducts of manufacturing that are released into the air or water? Yes. Regulating climate? Impossible.
What most news reports failed to explain, of course, is that the endangerment finding was
always a house built on sand. It was always a politicized abuse of authority by the Obama administration that was never granted by Congress within the Clean Air Act.
An excellent comprehensive legal justification for the EPA’s decision to overturn the finding is
provided by the agency and can be found here. The bottom line is that the Clean Air Act “does not
provide EPA statutory authority to prescribe motor vehicle emission standards for the purpose of
addressing global climate change concerns,” and that “its regulations have not and cannot have any
material impact on global climate change concerns, rending them futile,” and finally that “Congress
never intended to give EPA authority” to impose greenhouse gas emission regulations for cars and
trucks.
A rule that never should have happened in the first place has finally been rescinded, but not
before billions of dollars spent by manufacturers and passed on to consumers have been wasted in the delusional belief that the U.S. could, as David Muir put it, “regulate climate.”
The EPA estimates that the endangerment finding has resulted in “16 years of consumer choice
restrictions and trillions of dollars in hidden costs for Americans.” Consumers have paid an average of an additional $2,400 per vehicle thanks to the unnecessary burden of making automobiles compliant with the rule.
But while the EPA’s decision is cause for celebration by American consumers, it could be undone
in a heartbeat by a future administration wedded to the dogma of the climate cult. That’s why it’s
urgent for Congress to codify into law a commitment by the U.S. to nullify the radical left climate change crusade and legislatively enshrine America’s common-sense energy position for generations to come.
The Affordable Reliable Clean Energy Security (ARC-ES) act was introduced last October by Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH) and would codify affordable, reliable energy into law. Passage of the act would be much more effective than an agency rule or even a presidential executive order.
Congressional passage of ARC-ES would protect America’s energy future from the whims of
future climate zealots and guarantee energy that is cost-effective, abundant and effective. It would send a clear signal that our nation will never again require the waste of billions of tax dollars on subsidies for unreliable “alternatives” or force manufacturers to spend trillions on configuring products to make them compliant with delusional leftwing mandates.
The EPA’s courageous decision to rescind the endangerment finding was a wonderful gift to the
American people as we approach the United States’ 250 th birthday celebration later this year. The
biggest present of all would be Congress passing and President Trump signing into law the guarantee of America’s economic security for our children and grandchildren.
The EPA has started the ball rolling. Congress must keep the momentum going. Pass ARC-ES
now.
Gary Abernathy is a longtime newspaper editor, reporter and columnist. He was a contributing
columnist for the Washington Post from 2017-2023 and a frequent guest analyst across numerous media platforms. He is a contributing opinion columnist for The Empowerment Alliance, which advocates for realistic approaches to energy consumption and environmental conservation.