Senate Paves Way for California to Ditch Clean Air Standards, Including Vehicle Emission Rules
WASHINGTON (AP) – On Wednesday, Senate Republicans moved to set a new precedent enabling them to rescind
emission regulations for vehicles in California
including a regulation that eliminates the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035.
The complex sequence of Senate procedural votes that extended deep into the night might significantly impact California’s long-standing initiatives aimed at decreasing air pollution. Additionally, this created a new, restrictive exemption from the Senate filibuster despite Republicans’ insistence that they do not intend to alter Senate procedures.
The Democrats vigorously opposed this action, causing delays that stretched out for hours as Senator John Thune from South Dakota, representing the Republican Party, facilitated the procedural steps allowing the Republicans to proceed with their plans for introducing three separate motions.
House-passed resolutions
That would violate the regulations. The Senate might
submit the resolutions at the end of this week
.
At issue are the three California rules — phasing out gas-powered cars, cutting tailpipe emissions from medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and curbing smog-forming nitrogen oxide pollution from trucks.
Republicans argue that phasing out gasoline-driven vehicles, alongside these additional regulations, imposes significant costs on both buyers and producers. They also warn this could strain the country’s power supply infrastructure and effectively create a national requirement for electric vehicles. On the flip side, Democrats accuse Republicans of aligning themselves with interests within the petroleum sector. Democrats contend that California ought to retain its authority to establish individual state guidelines following approvals granted by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Thune stated this week that the exemptions “extend well past what Congress had envisioned within the Clean Air Act” and he argued that these exceptions could “harm consumers, our economy, and the country’s energy security.”
The controversy also involves the Senate as an institution, along with the long-standing filibuster rules that both major political parties have gradually reduced over the past twenty years. Although the Republican attempt is limited, it represents one of multiple growingly polarized attempts to advance legislation via party-line votes in the Senate.
During the sequence of votes on Wednesday, Republicans established a precedent allowing the Senate to overrule state Environmental Protection Agency waivers with just a simple majority vote. This action was taken despite the Senate parliamentarian concurring with the Government Accountability Office that California’s policies fall outside the purview of the Congressional Review Act—a legislation enabling Congress to invalidate specific federal regulations when applicable conditions are met.
Tonight, Republicans have crossed a point of no return for the Senate, allowing this body to operate with greater authority when they hold the majority,” Senator Chuck Schumer stated from the Senate floor as he proceeded to postpone the votes. He referred to the Republicans as ” fair-weather institutionalists.
In recent years, both sides have taken significant steps to diminish the power of the filibuster, which typically demands a 60-vote majority.
In 2013, when President Barack Obama was in office, Democrats decided to reduce the voting requirement for approving all presidential nominees to a simple majority, except for those nominated for the Supreme Court position. Later, in 2017, during President Donald Trump’s tenure, Republicans eliminated the leftover filibuster provisions specifically to approve the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch. This change remained intact even when Democrats used this adjusted process to confirm Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson in 2022. However, later that year, Democrats tried without success to dismantle the broader legislative filibuster; they faced opposition from within their ranks which prevented them from doing so.
This week, Republicans have maintained that their stance is merely an uphold of the existing Senate rules and federal laws.
“We aren’t discussing any actions that would undermine the Senate’s institutional identity; rather, we aim to protect the Senate’s privileges,” Thune stated.
The attempts to reinstate California’s standards follow many years of Republican endeavors to obstruct these regulations. In 2019, the Trump administration rescinded California’s power to implement its own emission rules; however, President Joe Biden subsequently reinstated this authority for the state.
Republicans contend that these regulations essentially set uniform national standards, which could ultimately result in a federal requirement for electric vehicles. Already, roughly a dozen states have adopted policies similar to those of California.
For many years, California has had the permission to implement vehicle emission regulations that are more stringent than those set by the federal government. In 2020, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom proposed banning the sale of all new gasoline-fueled vehicles within 15 years as part of a robust initiative aimed at reducing emissions from the transportation industry. However, plug-in hybrid models and previously owned petrol cars would remain available for purchase.
The Biden administration has authorized the state’s request to adopt the standards under the waiver program.
in December
A month prior to Trump’s return to office, California implemented more stringent regulations compared to a guideline from the Biden era. This newer rule toughens emission standards but stops short of mandating the sale of electric vehicles.
The Environmental Protection Agency under Biden stated in its announcement that those opposing the California waivers failed to demonstrate legally that either the electric vehicle regulation or the separate provision for heavy-duty vehicles contradicted the Clean Air Act.
Newsom has referenced Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, both of whom endorsed significant environmental legislation, as hehas clashed with congressional Republicans and the Trump administration over this matter.
“The United States Senate faces a decision: relinquish America’s leadership in the automotive industry to China and harm the health of our children’s lungs, or adhere to longstanding traditions and support the clean air regulations that both Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon fiercely advocated for,” he stated this week.
Mary Clare Jalonick from The Associated Press