U.S. Sen. James Lankford is still talking about the Senate vote he supported last week to overturn California’s electric vehicle standards. So is Sen. Markwayne Mullin who co-sponsored the move.
In a weekend letter to constituents, Sen. Lankford raised the question—Why Are We Talking about California Electric Vehicle Standards?
“Good question. In 2023, President Biden asked the Government Accountability Office to classify a new electric vehicle mandate for California as an “order” instead of a rule to try to slip in a nationwide electric vehicle mandate on the country without going through Congress. He waited to release this mandate after the November election because he knew the American people want to choose the type of car they drive, not be required to buy electric cars and trucks.
The Senate demanded that a rule that significant to the entire country would have to go through Congress, so we used the Congressional Review Act to take down the Biden EV mandate. It was a long fight, with many technical aspects, but we won the right for Americans to once again select any vehicle they want to buy, electric or gas.
If you want a complete explanation of the legislation and the fight, watch my speech on the Senate floor.”
CLICK HERE to watch my video discussing this.
Sen. Mullin helped lead the effort with H.J. Res. 89, Mullin Low NOX Regulation CRA.The final step of the three joint resolutions, introduced by U.S. Senators Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), and Deb Fischer (R-NE), of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to repeal California’s EV waivers that prohibit the sale of new gas-powered light-duty vehicles by 2035, and set unrealistic and stringent emission requirements for heavy-duty trucks and heavy-duty diesel engines.
“California’s anti-consumer choice waivers have driven up the costs of heavy-duty vehicles and engines, undermined the free flow of interstate commerce, and stirred up regulatory disarray for commercial truck manufacturers and interstate fleet operators. As a truck driver myself, I am grateful to my colleagues for joining me in putting a stop to California’s extreme EV mandates that jeopardize our entire nation’s supply chain and economy. Hardworking Americans and business owners will no longer be beholden to California’s radical and expensive regulations on heavy-duty highway and off-road vehicles and engines,” said Senator Mullin.
Background:
- Senator Mullin’s CRA, the ‘Omnibus’ Low NOx Regulation, overturns a Biden EPA approved waiver that allowed California to enforce overly burdensome Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emission limits regulations for heavy-duty highway and off-road vehicles and engines.
- The regulation includes longer emission control system warranties, new cold start emission requirements, and extended durability requirements over a vehicles operational life.
- This waiver applies to model year 2024 and later on-road heavy-duty Otto-cycle and heavy-duty diesel engines used to operate Class 3-8 medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, including drayage trucks, buses (except transit buses), refuse trucks, and other commercial work vehicles.
- In California alone, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) estimated that over 43,000 jobs would be eliminated by the Low NOx regulation.
