House Republicans on Thursday unveiled three Congressional Review Act resolutions that would reverse Biden administration-era regulations that seek to ban the use of gasoline-powered vehicles, heavy trucks, and diesel engines over the next decade.
The Congressional Review Act allows lawmakers to review and discard some federal agency rules before they take effect. Both chambers need to approve any rule changes with a simple majority vote to send them to President Donald Trump for his signature.
Republicans are seeking to roll back Environmental Protection Agency waivers granted to California in December, about a month before then-President Joe Biden left office, which would dramatically change how cars were sold, emphasizing electric vehicles.
Sixteen other states, including Pennsylvania, have reportedly adopted California’s previous standards for vehicles, which equals about 40% of the automobile marketplace.
“The American people should choose what vehicle is right for them, not California bureaucrats,” said Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, in a news release. “The Committee has been committed to addressing this issue since California first attempted to create a de facto EV mandate. Energy and Commerce Republicans will continue to fight against far-left policies that would harm consumers and will now work to ensure that the Congressional Review Act process finally puts these issues to rest.”
The three resolutions were introduced by Pennsylvania GOP Rep. John Joyce, vice chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, and other members of the committee, including Reps. Lisa McClain of Michigan, chair of the House Republican Conference, Jay Obernolte of California and John James of Michigan.
“Biden’s EPA waivers effectively allowed one state’s woke agenda to dictate national policy,” McClain said in the news release. “It’s not the government’s role to decide what vehicle Americans must drive. These waivers bypass Congress and ignore millions of Americans who rely on affordable, reliable transportation.”
- A resolution introduced by Joyce would reverse the EPA’s decision to approve a waiver granted to California allowing the state to ban the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2035.
- Another, introduced by Obernolte, would end the EPA’s decision to allow California to implement its most recent nitrogen oxide engine emission standards, “which create burdensome and unworkable standards for heavy-duty on-road engines.”
- The third, introduced by James, would reverse the EPA’s decision to approve a waiver granted to California allowing the state to mandate the sale of zero-emission trucks.
Lindsay Buckley, a spokesperson for the California Air Resources Board, told the Sacramento Bee on Thursday that what Republicans were proposing was unprecedented.
“By using the Congressional Review Act, the Trump EPA is doing what no EPA under Democratic or Republican administrations in 50 years has ever done, and what the U.S. Government Accountability Office has confirmed does not comply with the law,” Buckley said.
The GAO, a nonpartisan government agency within the legislative branch, ruled last month that the waivers by Biden’s EPA do not fall under the Congressional Review Act, agreeing with the Biden administration, which argued the waiver was an order and not a regulatory rule subject to congressional review. But it hasn’t stopped Republicans and the Trump administration from seeking to stop them.
“We are driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion to drive down cost of living for American families, unleash American energy, bring auto jobs back to the U.S. and more,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said last month.
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