Providing Congressional Disapproval of the Rule Submitted By the Environmental Protection Agency Relating to ``California State Motor Vehicle and Engine Pollution Control Standards; Heavy-Duty Vehicle and Engine Emission Warranty and Maintenance Provisions; Advanced Clean Trucks; Zero Emission Airport Shuttle; Zero-Emission Power Train Certification; Waiver of Preemption; Notice of Decision''
Floor Speech
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Ms. MATSUI. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak in opposition to H.J. Res. 87.
Heavy diesel trucks are some of the most polluting vehicles on the road. Even though they make up just 10 percent of all vehicles, heavy- duty vehicles produce more than half of all pollution and smog-forming NO
For over 50 years, California has had the authority to set its own stronger vehicle emissions rules because California has, to quote the Clean Air Act, ``compelling and extraordinary circumstances'' that justify stronger emissions standards than the Nation as a whole. This was true in 1970, and it is still true today.
According to the American Lung Association's 2025 State of the Air report, 5 of the top 10 most polluted cities in America are in California, and that includes my district. I-5 and I-80, which crisscross my district, are both major heavy-duty trucking corridors. The diesel emissions along these corridors create serious air quality issues that directly affect the health and well-being of my constituents.
Not only that, these emissions are also a significant contributor to severe weather events. California receives the brunt of climate change's most severe impacts, from wildfires to atmospheric rivers to droughts. In Sacramento, we have faced deadly flooding from more intense winter storms as well as longer and more extreme droughts, and the foothills above Sacramento are still scarred from the many wildfires we have seen in recent years.
California's emission standards are a matter of life and death for my constituents. To protect my constituents, I spent much of my career in Congress fighting for stronger emissions standards.
I am once again stunned by the hypocrisy of my Republican colleagues, who claim to defend States' rights while they do everything in their power to stop California from setting its own statewide emissions standards.
This is even more absurd because the Government Accountability Office, GAO, has already ruled that the EPA waiver for California's emissions standards is not eligible for repeal under the Congressional Review Act. In other words, the legislation we are debating here today is a pointless political exercise, a waste of time because perhaps my colleagues have nothing better to offer today.
The President is playing with tariffs, sending the cost of groceries soaring, and kneecapping American manufacturers. My Republican colleagues will maybe stop debating this meaningless resolution and reassert congressional authority over tariffs. They can end the tariffs this week and bring down costs for families.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on H.J. Res. 87.
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