California’s mandate to have all electric vehicles by 2035 was axed by the House of Representatives on Thursday.
The House voted to repeal a decision handed down by the Environmental Protection Agency under former President Joe Biden that permitted the 2035 mandate, which was championed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The backstory: Newsom signs an executive order in 2020 to require all new cars sold in California to be zero-emission vehicles by 2035.
- Last December the EPA signed off on Newsom’s order through a request from the California Air Resources Board.
The big picture: The repeal received bipartisan support, with Congress passing it on a 246-164 vote.
- Not a single Republican voted against the bill, while 35 Democrats supported it.
- Only two California Democrats sided with Republicans: Rep. J. Luis Correa (D–Santa Ana) and Rep. George Whitesides (D–Agua Dulce).
- The House also voted on Wednesday to repeal a separate EPA rule that allowed California to require more zero-emission heavy-duty trucks.
The other side: Democrats cried foul with how Republicans pushed the repeal by using the Congressional Review Act to circumvent the 60-vote threshold in the Senate will the bill will head to the upper chamber for a vote.
- Their outcry came after the nonpartisan Senate Parliamentarian and the Government Accountability Office said California’s Clean Air Act waivers are not subject to the Congressional Review Act.
WHat they’re saying: Newsom said the Republicans illegally used the Congressional Review Act to repeal the 2035 mandate.
- “Trump Republicans are hellbent on making California smoggy again. Clean air didn’t used to be political. In fact, we can thank Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon for our decades-old authority to clean our air,” Newsom said. “The only thing that’s changed is that big polluters and the right-wing propaganda machine have succeeded in buying off the Republican Party – and now the House is using a tactic that the Senate’s own parliamentarian has said is lawless. Our vehicles program helps clean the air for all Californians, and we’ll continue defending it. Washington may want to cede our economy to China but California is standing by American innovation.”
- Senator Alex Padilla (D–CA) said, “The Senate parliamentarian has already upheld decades of precedent and determined these CRAs are not allowed by Senate rules. If Senate Republicans take up these measures under the Congressional Review Act, they will be going nuclear by overruling the Parliamentarian, all to baselessly attack California.”
- On the other hand, Republicans celebrated the move as a return to common sense governance.
- “These out of touch mandates abused by California should not be imposed on the entire country when it’s contrary to common sense and what the public wanted. We should protect the right of consumers to choose the vehicle that works for their budget and lifestyle, in addition to removing needless barriers that limit water access to our farmers and Central Valley communities,” Rep. Vince Fong (R–Bakersfield) said. “As a co-sponsor to overturn these waivers, it is imperative we enact consistent federal rules to reduce confusion, lower costs, and ensure fairness. We should not model national energy policy after California – a state that is completely energy incompetent. Nor should we allow California to withhold water from our producers in the nation’s food capital. It is critical we undo these mandates to ensure Californians, and all Americans, no longer have to bear the financial burden of these terrible state and federal policies.”
