Capito Statement on EPA Approval of California Waiver to Ban New Gas-Powered Cars

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, released the following statement on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approval of California's waiver to implement its "Advanced Clean Cars II" regulation to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars, and mandate an all-electric vehicle economy.

"EPA's decision to approve California's extreme EV mandate imposes unrealistic, stringent requirements to sell 100 percent electric vehicles by 2035. This rule not only fails to meet the Clean Air Act's requirements for a waiver, but also forces the hand of American consumers and makes our country more reliant on China for critical minerals. The impacts of this costly, radical regulatory overreach will unfortunately be felt far outside of California, as 11 additional states and Washington D.C. have already adopted California's regulation, creating a patchwork of separate auto regulations across broad swaths of the country. The American people want consumer choice - not an EV mandate. I will work to reverse the Biden administration's lame duck action." Ranking Member Capito said.

BACKGROUND:

In February, Ranking Member Capito joined Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.-05), Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), and Rep. John Joyce (R-Pa.-13), in a bicameral letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan warning of the legal and economic consequences of granting a Clean Air Act waiver request from the state of California, which would enable the state to require 35 percent of automobile sales to be zero-emission vehicles in model year 2026, and finally, 100 percent of them by 2035.

# # #