Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 1435.

This legislation specifically targets the ability of my home State of California and the ability of 17 other States to set their own auto emission standards, improve public health, and tackle the climate crisis.

With this legislation, my Republican colleagues are propping up the fossil fuel industry at the expense of the environment and pushing their polluters over people agenda, which endangers the health of the American people.

Over 100 million people live in counties with unhealthy air pollution, and air pollution is linked to more than 100,000 premature deaths in the United States every year. The transportation sector is the largest contributor to the emission of greenhouse gases, making up one-third of total pollution.

In the mid-20th century, California was plagued by smog from vehicles that spewed pollution into the air and caused hazardous health conditions for residents. With this reality in mind, my State took action.

California has been a national leader in addressing air pollution from the transportation sector for decades and has regulated vehicle emissions for years. In fact, California established the first tailpipe emission standards in the country in 1966, well before the Federal Government did.

A year later, then-Governor Reagan approved the Mulford-Carrell Air Resources Act to create the State Air Resources Board. You heard that right. Ronald Reagan, a conservative Republican, established a statewide agency to address air pollution. Clean air protections were bipartisan for years, with President Nixon signing the Clean Air Act into law, another Californian, I might add.

The Clean Air Act granted California the ability to receive a waiver from the Environmental Protection Agency to establish vehicle emission standards that are more protective and aggressive than those at the Federal level. With that authority, Governor Reagan's Air Resources Board adopted the Nation's first nitrogen oxide emission standards for motor vehicles.

Here is what we have seen in the years since: Ambitious vehicle emission standards empower the auto industry to produce better, cleaner cars. They are a win-win-win for consumers, growing our domestic auto industry, and meeting our climate goals.

For more than five decades, the EPA has granted dozens of waivers to California, which has enabled my State to cut pollution from as much as 35 parts per million in 1970 to under 9 parts per million in 2018. The waivers have helped improve conditions for residents and have driven innovation in the auto industry.

California's ambitious emission standards have led the way for historic technological breakthroughs, such as the invention of the catalytic converter, the dashboard check-engine light, and, yes, the development of zero-emission vehicles.

H.R. 1435 looks to erase decades of progress on tackling air pollution, advancing technological innovation, and protecting public health. This bill attacks the Clean Air Act and the longstanding authority of States to make their own decisions to keep their air clean and climate pollution low.

Republicans frequently tout States' rights. Why is this case any different?

This bill would also force the EPA to revoke existing waivers going back to 2013, causing chaos and confusion for the entire auto industry and disrupting the transition to electric vehicles that is already underway across the country.

The regulatory framework that California and its 17 partner States have in place empowers the auto industry to produce better and cleaner cars that are cheaper to maintain and provide significant cost savings for American families.

H.R. 1435's reckless requirement that the EPA revoke existing Clean Air Act waivers jeopardizes over 50 years of progress and innovation. Not only would the auto industry suffer, but the American consumer would lose out on cheaper, cleaner vehicle options today and in the future.

Let's be clear. The only party that would benefit from this regulatory uncertainty in vehicle emission standards is the fossil fuel industry.

Ultimately, H.R. 1435 is not based on science, and it fails to recognize the effects that our constituents are already feeling from unmitigated climate change. It fails to acknowledge the public health consequences of air pollution. For this reason, at the appropriate time, I will offer a motion to recommit this bill back to committee.

If the House rules permitted, I would have offered the motion with an important amendment to this bill. My amendment would strike the section of the bill that requires the EPA Administrator to revoke all existing waivers, which would throw the U.S. auto industry into chaos and regulatory uncertainty.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source