Joint resolutions recently introduced in the U.S. Senate express disapproval of California’s electric vehicle (EV) waivers that prohibit the sale of new gas-powered light-duty vehicles by 2035. The senators hope to repeal the waivers under the Congressional Review Act.
The waivers would enable California to require 35 percent of automobile sales to be zero-emission vehicles in model year 2026. This would increase to 100 percent by 2035.
Last year, Congress members sent a bicameral letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan warning of the legal and economic consequences of granting California’s Clean Air Act waiver request.
U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman, Deb Fischer (R-NE), and Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) introduced the resolutions.
“By sending these rules to Congress, (EPA) Administrator (Lee) Zeldin and the Trump administration followed the law and addressed the Biden administration’s attempt to circumvent Congress in this process,” Capito said. “California’s extreme EV mandate imposes unrealistic and stringent requirements, fails to meet the Clean Air Act’s requirements for a waiver, forces the hand of American consumers, and makes our country more reliant on China for critical minerals. The American people have made it clear that they want consumer choice – not an EV mandate.”