Providing for Congressional Disapproval of the Rule Submitted By the Environmental Protection Agency Relating to ``Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards for Model Years 2027 and Later Light-Duty and Medium-Duty Vehicles''

Floor Speech

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Mr. RUIZ. Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my strong opposition to H.J. Res. 136, a resolution seeking to overturn the EPA's very important tailpipe emissions rule finalized in April 2024.

This rule sets strong pollution standards for passenger cars, light- duty trucks, and medium-duty vehicles for model years 2027 through 2032. It is a vital step toward cleaner air and healthier lives for all Americans.

As an emergency physician, I have witnessed firsthand the severe health impacts of air pollution on our communities. In fact, recent scientific literature shows that those communities that live in high-polluted areas live 10 years less than those that do not.

The Coachella Valley and Imperial Valley in southern California, in my district, despite their beauty, consistently rank among the worst air quality in the Nation. Without surprise, this has led to an alarmingly high asthma rate in our district, nearly double the average national rate.

Approximately 27 percent of our children suffer from asthma and experience some of the highest asthma-related hospitalizations in California.

Families, particularly those in low-income, frontline, vulnerable communities, are grappling with the consequences of living in one of the worst regions for air quality in the country.

This is not just an issue in my district. Madam Speaker, this is an issue in your district. This is an issue in all of our districts.

Across the United States, air pollution is responsible for over 100,000 premature deaths each year and results in billions in healthcare costs. These are healthcare costs that the middle-class family cannot afford from preventable illnesses such as heart disease, lung disease, and asthma.

The EPA's new rule is expected to prevent nearly 1,000 premature deaths annually, reduce millions of tons of harmful emissions, and save American families who are struggling with the cost of living $1.6 trillion in healthcare costs by 2050.

For my constituents, this rule means fewer children suffering from asthma attacks, fewer seniors rushed to the emergency room for respiratory illnesses, and cleaner air for everyone. Yet, some of my Republican colleagues are attempting to repeal it, prioritizing the profits of big polluters over the health of our families.

This resolution, in fact, is straight from Trump's 2025 playbook because it aligns with his plan to put corporate polluters in the driver's seat and prioritize Big Oil profits over Americans' health and well-being.

Repealing this rule would erase $280 billion in net benefits and prolong the suffering of vulnerable communities from preventable diseases.

This resolution serves corporate interests at the expense of the public's health. This resolution will revoke the EPA's protections and replace them with nothing. This will not only repeal the EPA's rule but prevent any further administration from tackling this issue and taking any similar type of action.

By rejecting H.J. Res. 136 and supporting the EPA's rule, we are choosing to prioritize our constituents' health and advance justice for the most vulnerable. Clean air is a right. It is a common good.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this critical EPA rule and vote against H.J. Res. 136 because our communities are suffering incredibly from the pollution that they breathe.

Asthma is a horrible illness, especially in children--children who come in from playing with their family and suddenly start wheezing. Sometimes you have minutes to give them the appropriate treatment to prevent them from dying. Sometimes, because they live in rural areas like in my colleagues' districts, they don't have the time to get to that emergency department for that treatment. I have seen it.

This would help reduce the risks that can lead to higher asthma mortality and is aimed at ensuring that we have healthier middle-class families, middle-class families that aren't burdened by the cost of disease, middle-class families that need the support to live healthy lives.

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