EPA Touts Over $1.6 Trillion in Savings From Finalized Deregulatory Actions
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on October 23 that the deregulatory actions it finalized during fiscal year 2026 (October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026) are estimated to save Americans and U.S. businesses more than $1.6 trillion in total. The agency also released a new webpage and video for its "Powering the Great American Comeback" initiative, summarizing its deregulatory agenda.
According to EPA, the savings are driven mainly by two actions. In February 2026, EPA rescinded the 2009 greenhouse gas Endangerment Finding along with all vehicle greenhouse gas emission standards and off-cycle credits (including the start-stop feature credit), an action estimated to save more than $1.3 trillion, including roughly $2,400 per new vehicle; EPA calls it the largest single deregulatory action in U.S. history. In September 2026, EPA repealed most of the prior administration's greenhouse gas requirements for power plants, an action estimated to save about $310 billion, the largest deregulatory action ever in the U.S. power sector.
EPA also said it worked with Congress to protect consumer choice through the Congressional Review Act: in 2025, Congress passed and the President signed six CRA resolutions permanently nullifying earlier EPA actions, including the waste emissions (methane) charge implementation rule, the rubber-tire manufacturing emission standards, and California's Advanced Clean Cars II, Advanced Clean Trucks and Heavy-Duty Omnibus low-NOx waivers.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the agency is removing rules that raised the cost of vehicles, power, fuel and everyday goods, restoring consumer choice, and cutting red tape and streamlining permitting so America can build again. EPA said that by the end of the Biden administration, EPA rules accounted for more than $1.3 trillion of roughly $1.8 trillion in cumulative federal regulatory costs, adding an estimated $10,000 per household.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 美国环境保护署局长 Lee Zeldin 官方肖像。 Photo: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
