In what might be the first step to eliminating California’s Advanced Clean Cars II, Advanced Clean Trucks, and Omnibus NOx rules, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin recently announced that his agency will be sending the rules granting waivers to the state to Congress for review.
A statement on the EPA website cited the ACC and ACT waivers, saying the pair not only increased vehicle costs, but also the overall cost of goods and cost of living throughout the country.
“The Biden Administration failed to send rules on California’s waivers to Congress, preventing Members of Congress from deciding on extremely consequential actions that have massive impacts and costs across the entire United States. The Trump EPA is transparently correcting this wrong and rightly following the rule of law,” said Administrator Zeldin in the statement. “The American people are struggling to make ends meet while dealing with rules that take away their ability to choose a safe and affordable vehicle for their families. As an agency, we are accountable to Congress, but most importantly we must be accountable to the American people.”
Under the Congressional Rule Act (CRA), the federal legislature has the power to review actions by federal agencies and determine if they meet the CRA’s definition of rule. Congress is granted “special fast-track procedures” that allows it to consider legislation with the ability to overturn a rule by a joint resolution of disapproval that passes both houses of Congress and is signed by the President.
