Statement on the EPA excluding Human Life from Cost-Benefit Analysis for Rulemaking

January 12, 2026 Press Release Washington, D.C. -- Today, Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04) released the following statement in response to the EPA's decision to exclude human life from cost-benefit analysis for rulemaking: " The EPA’s decision to stop accounting for the lives saved by clean air rules is a dangerous abandonment of its core mission: protecting human health. For decades, well-established science has shown that reducing air pollution prevents asthma attacks, hospitalizations, chronic disease, and premature deaths. Ignoring those benefits while counting only industry costs assigns a value of zero to human life and makes it easier for polluters to do more harm. " The EPA exists to protect people and the environment, not to promote corporate profits. Any cost-benefit analysis that excludes human life is dishonest and contrary to decades of precedent. Clean air is not negotiable." Issues : Energy & Environment Health Care