Sullivan pledges resolutions to cancel EPA’s proposed vehicle emissions rules
Jeremy Beaman
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) said he will propose resolutions to cancel the Biden administration’s new proposed vehicle emissions regulations, which were designed to increase sales of electric vehicles by cracking down on pollution from new internal combustion engine models.
Sullivan said Tuesday that he and Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) are planning Congressional Review Act resolutions of disapproval for both the heavy-duty truck and light- and medium-duty vehicle proposals the Environmental Protection Agency put forth on Wednesday. The law provides for measures to cancel administrative rules to be brought to the floor of the Senate on an expedited basis.
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“These rules are de facto bans on internal combustion engines,” Sullivan said during a hearing. He said he didn’t believe the standards are achievable.
The EPA proposed stricter emissions rules for passenger vehicles made between model years 2027 and 2032 to reduce pollution and increase the market share of EVs. President Joe Biden had already set a goal of at least 50% of new vehicle sales being electric by 2030.
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The agency estimated that its proposed emissions limits would increase the manufacture of electric models and could drive sales of new EVs up to as much as 67% of all light-duty vehicle sales by 2032.
Most Democrats in Congress praised the standards for enabling the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants from the combustion of fossil fuels.
Many Republicans criticized the standards as too aggressive and argued they would limit consumer choices.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, joined Republicans on Tuesday and accused the administration of lying by pushing the notion that EPA’s proposed rules improve American energy security, bringing up his conflict with the administration’s implementation of EV subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act.
Manchin said earlier Tuesday that the Treasury Department is “liberalizing” strict rules in the Inflation Reduction Act, the Democrats’ green energy and healthcare spending law passed in August, that impose material sourcing requirements in a bid to reduce U.S. reliance on Chinese components.
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“To meet these timelines will mean strengthening our reliance on minerals and technologies controlled by the Chinese,” Manchin said. “Taken in concert with the clear violation of the [Inflation Reduction Act] to undermine provisions that would actually secure these supply chains, this Administration is taking steps that will only result in a more energy secure and powerful China.”
Manchin said he would support an effort by Congress to overturn the regulations, which have yet to be finalized.