Pending Vote: House legislation would rein in EPA, CA vehicle bans and keep EVs out of the RFS

It’s possible the House of Representatives will soon vote on three pieces of legislation to rein in the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from imposing and enabling de facto bans on new cars and trucks that run on liquid fuels and from radically transforming the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) into a new nine-figure-government subsidy program for electric vehicles (EVs). Here’s more about the specific bills:

1. The Choice in Automobile Retail Sales (CARS) Act (H.R. 4468)
   This bill by Representative Tim Walberg (MI 5) would stop EPA’s recent proposal to require roughly 70% of new car and truck sales to be “zero tailpipe emission” in less than 10 years. EPA’s proposal, which ignores every category of emissions except for tailpipe emissions, is a de facto ban on liquid-fuel-powered cars and trucks and, by extension, the American-made fuels they run on. The legislation would not interfere with EPA’s ability to set ambitious vehicle emission standards. It would simply specify that EPA must remain technology neutral in setting standards and cannot mandate or limit access to vehicles arbitrarily based on their powertrain technology.
2. The Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act (H.R. 1435)
   This legislation by Representatives John Joyce (PA 13), Bob Latta (OH 5), Gus Bilirakis (FL 12) and Jay Obernolte (CA 23)—and its Senate companion by Senators Markwayne Mullin (OK), Roger Marshall (KS) and Pete Ricketts (NE)—would stop EPA from giving California the green light to enact its ban on gas and diesel vehicles. California, and the roughly 20 states that copy California policy verbatim, cannot ban vehicles and fuels or mandate the electrification of semi-trucks, for instance, without EPA permission. This bill makes clear that EPA cannot grant that permission, in the form of a waiver from the federal Clean Air Act, if California is going to use the waiver to ban or restrict liquid-fuel-powered vehicles.
3. The No Fuel Credits for Batteries Act (H.R. 4469)
   This bill by Representative Greg Pence (IN 6)—and its Senate companion by Senators Chuck Grassley (IA), John Thune (SD) and Kevin Cramer (ND)—makes clear that EPA does not have the authority to add an EV provision to the RFS, a long-standing liquid fuel policy meant to support U.S. energy security and American-grown biofuels. Any decision to expand or redirect the RFS in this way needs to come from Congress.

The legislative package received its first hearing June 22 in the House Energy & Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing and Critical Materials where AFPM President & CEO Chet Thompson testified in support. The bills were voted out of the Subcommittee on July 12 and must receive a full Energy & Commerce Committee markup before advancing to the House floor.

Industry employees, contractors, friends and family are encouraged to contact their Members of Congress to urge their support for the legislation over at AFPM|EMPOWER.