Gas Flaring Credit: BLM
October 28, 2026 - Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) issued the following statement after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced their new proposal to weaken limits on emissions of methane and other pollutants:
Related: ProPublica: Trump’s EPA to Loosen Methane Rules, Boosting Pollution From Oil and Gas Wells
“First, the administration delayed compliance with pollution restrictions on methane and other chemicals, and now they are doing away with these protections altogether. This will give oil and gas companies a free pass to clog our lungs, make the air we breathe dirtier and more harmful and supercharge the risk of wildfires.
“All accountability for corporate polluters is being stripped away. And the health of the American people is the cost. The EPA has abandoned its mission to protect our environment. That’s why I’ve helped to lead the fight in the Senate to stop this very action – warning that more air pollution brings more cancer, asthma, wildfires, flooding, and other public health concerns. And that’s why I will continue fighting to stop the dismantling of decades of work to curb pollution, invest in scientific solutions, and put fighting climate change ahead of serving corporate profits.”
Background: Last year, Schiff and U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) introduced a resolution under the Congressional Review Act that would strike down the EPA’s extension given to oil and gas companies to avoid limits on emissions of methane and other pollutants without public input. The Senators noted that the EPA’s rule delaying compliance for the oil and gas sector was illogical since the industry already knows how to stop leaks and the Biden administration had provided funding to them to help them stop these leaks.
The Senators pointed out that the Trump administration issued this rule without allowing the American public to comment on it, which violates the Clean Air Act and the Administrative Procedure Act. At the same time, the administration has been working on dismantling the endangerment finding, the legal basis that underpins all of EPA’s greenhouse gas pollution restrictions.
The Senators’ resolution failed a procedural vote 46-51 in November.
Most recently, Schiff joined Whitehouse in introducing the No Passes for Polluters Act, legislation to clarify congressional intent in exempting toxic polluters from regulation under the Clean Air Act.
Source: Senator Adam Schiff
