U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), the Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety today released the following statement after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced two proposed rules to curb greenhouse gases and other emissions from light- and heavy-duty vehicles for Model Year 2027 and after.
“We applaud the EPA for taking these necessary steps to curb emissions from light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles and accelerate the transition to zero-emission vehicles. These rules will set us on a path to protect public health, save drivers’ money, and clean up our air—particularly for low-income and other disadvantaged communities near freight corridors that shoulder the biggest burden of harmful air pollution.
“While today’s announcement makes major progress in mitigating the transportation sector’s impact on our climate, we also recognize there is more we can—and must—be doing. As we called for earlier this year, we will continue to push the EPA to finalize the most effective proposals possible by the end of 2023. Finalizing these standards by the end of the year will give affected industries regulatory certainty, create high-quality jobs, position the United States as a leader in zero-emission vehicle technology, and achieve long-overdue protections for our communities. These rules are sensible and attainable—particularly with the significant investments passed by Congress in the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act—and we urge EPA to finalize high-ambition rules without further delay.”
Earlier this year, Padilla and Markey led 56 of their colleagues in sending a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan urging the agency to finalize and issue strong vehicle greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for both cars and trucks by the end of the year. In March 2022, Padilla and Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) successfully pushed the Administration to revise emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks, which had previously not been revised in 20 years. In November 2021, Senators Markey, Padilla and Feinstein and Representative Matsui led a letter to EPA to strengthen vehicle emissions standards for passenger cars and light trucks for Model Years 2023 through 2026.
