By: Melody Reis, Federal Policy Director, Moms Clean Air Force
Date: August 21, 2025
About: Environmental Protection Agency Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0194
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.
The Endangerment Finding and the clean vehicles rules are critical to EPA’s ability to protect families from the emissions that cause global warming. The link between carbon pollution and global warming is well established by science, and warming is becoming more evident every year as dangerous extreme weather grows in intensity, affecting every corner of our country.
The DC area – where I live – is no exception. According to a summary of the 2018 National Climate Assessment, released during President Trump’s first term, “The city is heating up, downpours are intensifying, and our snow season is shrinking.” The report also warns that these changes “will accelerate into the future if greenhouse gas emissions continue unchecked.”
Unfortunately, this prediction has come true. Nine of DC’s 10 warmest years have occurred since 2012. Last year was our warmest year yet, with several records being broken. We had multiple consecutive days over 100 degrees last summer and multiple excessive heat warnings, which are issued when the heat index is expected to reach or exceed 110 degrees.
In extreme heat, people are at increased risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, and this is especially true for babies and small children whose temperatures rise 3-5 times faster than those of adults, whose bodies have a harder time cooling down, and who may not recognize or be able to communicate that they’re dehydrated or overheating.
Warming weather also means increased air pollution. The DC metro region received failing grades in the American Lung Association’s most recent State of the Air Report, released in April. Worsening air quality. Excessive heat warnings. Regular flooding. This is our reality, and we can reduce future harm by taking meaningful action on carbon and methane pollution or we can walk away, condemning future generations to increasing risks. To me, the path is clear.
The Endangerment Finding is foundational to EPA’s ability to protect us from the dangerous emissions that cause global warming. The health of our families, communities, and future generations is at stake. I urge EPA to put people over polluters, to honor its mission to protect public health and the environment, and to oppose any effort to undermine or revoke the Endangerment Finding and the clean vehicle standards.