By: Melody Reis, Director, Federal Policy, Moms Clean Air Force
Date: October 1, 2025
About: EPA Docket No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0186-0001, Reconsideration of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program
To: Environmental Protection Agency
Hi, my name is Melody Reis. I’m the Federal Policy Director at Moms Clean Air Force. I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you this morning to share my strong opposition to EPA’s proposal to repeal the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program.
The Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program was established 15 years ago to track climate-warming emissions from thousands of the country’s highest-polluting industrial facilities. We know that these emissions are warming our planet, changing our climate, and supercharging extreme weather across the country. The DC metro region, where I live, is no exception. Nine of DC’s 10 warmest years have occurred since 2012. Last year was our warmest year yet, with several records being broken. Climate change is no longer a distant possibility – it’s here.
But choosing not to collect data about climate pollution won’t make global warming go away—it will only make it a more expensive and more dangerous problem. If you’re driving and the “check engine” light comes on, you check the engine. You know that ignoring the warning could lead to larger problems, more expensive repairs, or an accident. Well, the planet’s engine is overheating and unfortunately, it feels like EPA – the agency in the driver’s seat when it comes to human health and the environment – is asleep at the wheel. And there are real consequences at stake for our planet and for future generations.
Climate data is important because it helps regulators, Congress, and businesses to make smart investments and targeted, fair, and effective policies. If one sector is contributing ten times more climate-warming emissions than the rest, it makes sense to prioritize finding cleaner solutions and technologies in that space. I don’t mean to overdo it with analogies, but if you’re fighting a fire, you don’t put on a blindfold and hope for the best.
We are in an emergency and, yes, some level of climate change is “baked in” from historical emissions. But if we use data to make smart decisions, there’s still time to prevent the worst possible outcomes. Cutting climate pollution significantly now is critical to safeguarding the well-being of future generations, who will be forced to live with the consequences of the decisions policymakers make today. Our children deserve a chance at a healthy, livable future—and repealing the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program is a step in the wrong direction.
Once again, I urge you to protect the GHGRP and thank you for your time.