In the final days of his presidency, former President Joe Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency made a decision that would effectively implement a nationwide electric vehicle mandate as soon as 2035. Before Biden left office, the EPA approved waivers sought by the state of California to impose stricter state emissions standards on automobiles than the existing federal limitations, resulting in a de facto EV mandate that would prevent the sale of gas-powered cars, heavy-duty trucks, diesel engines, and SUVs.
In 1968, the Clean Air Act granted California a carveout to implement stricter emissions standards to address Los Angeles smog. In December, after more than 50 years of liberal policies expanding the use of this carveout, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom authorized a ban on the sale of gas-powered vehicles in California by 2035.
To rectify this misinterpretation of congressional intent, the House of Representatives will soon vote on resolutions of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act that claw back the Biden EPA’s decision to approve the waivers submitted by California and preserve the availability of gas-powered vehicles and trucks for families and businesses.
We believe that people should be empowered to decide for themselves which vehicles are best for their families and not have the government decide for them. Our constituents tell us that EVs often cannot fulfill their needs. They frequently can’t drive the distances needed, maintain their charge at extreme temperatures, or recharge fast enough to keep hardworking people on the move.
Let’s be clear: Outlawing the sale of gas-powered vehicles is a blatant power grab by California Democrats to dictate policy across the country. More than a dozen states have adopted California’s emissions standards, meaning that more than 40% of the vehicle market will be affected by the Biden EPA’s decision. American auto manufacturers cannot afford to make separate vehicles for different states.
For decades, emissions have been reduced through investments and innovations, not government mandates. With such a short time span between enactment and implementation, our infrastructure is not prepared to meet the demand that a massive EV fleet would put on our electric grid.
Individual families, gas stations, and highway rest stops are not in a position to install expensive EV chargers at the speed this mandate would require. An EV mandate is also an abandonment of the free-market principles that have enabled Americans to have the most mobility of any nation in the world. This policy will harm working- and middle-class families by making cars more expensive and less capable.
Only by taking the government’s thumb off the scale and letting the free market decide will the public get the efficient and affordable transportation it needs.
The EPA’s decision to grant California’s waivers has produced shocking downstream consequences, confirming once again that the Biden-Harris administration prioritized implementing far-left policies over serving the people in its final days.
There are a number of downstream consequences associated with the implementation of these rules. For instance, electric heavy-duty trucks come with an increased weight and diminished towing power that will require more trucks on the road now and in the future.
Further, the critical materials necessary for the production of EV batteries are nearly universally mined and produced under the control of the Chinese Communist Party. A complete transition to EVs in the next decade would make our nation deeply reliant on the CCP, which currently produces more than 70% of the world’s rare earth minerals.
The mining that occurs in China is also among the most environmentally damaging in the world. When regulations exist at all to produce EV batteries, they are often not enforced, leading to toxic chemicals entering the soil, water, and air. The pollution created in the Chinese mining process, which is estimated to be twice as emissions-intensive as mining in the United States, effectively cancels out any perceived gains of an EV compared to a gas-powered car or truck manufactured here at home.
Passing these resolutions of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act is not an attempt to ban the sale of EVs. Anyone who wants to buy an EV should be able to do so. But no person should be forced to buy a car that isn’t right for them.
Now, with President Donald Trump in the White House and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s commitment to undoing harmful regulations, we have the opportunity to prevent this disastrous rule from going into effect, putting a stop to California’s onerous EV mandate.
H.J.Res. 88, led by Rep. John Joyce (R-PA), vice chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, will repeal California’s Advanced Clean Cars II waiver, allowing the state to ban the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2035.
CALIFORNIA DEFENDS ITS RIGHT TO BAN GAS VEHICLES AT THE SUPREME COURT
H.J.Res. 87, led by Rep. John James (R-MI), will repeal California’s Advanced Clean Trucks waiver, which currently would allow the state to mandate the sale of zero-emission trucks.
H.J.Res. 89, led by Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-CA), will put an end to California’s implementation of its most recent nitrogen oxide engine emission standards, which create burdensome and unworkable standards for heavy-duty on-road engines.
Brett Guthrie represents Kentucky’s 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives and is chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. John Joyce represents Pennsylvania’s 13th Congressional District. John James represents Michigan’s 10th Congressional District. Jay Obernolte represents California’s 23rd Congressional District.