The U.S. House of Representatives voted narrowly on Friday to repeal clean-vehicle regulations introduced in March, which aim to cut tailpipe emissions by 50% from 2026 levels by 2032. The 215-191 vote, with support from 207 Republicans and eight Democrats, underscores a partisan divide over the future of electric vehicles and emissions regulations.
House Republicans criticized the rules, claiming they would force automakers to accelerate electric vehicle production and reduce the presence of gas-powered vehicles in the U.S. market.
Republican Representative John James described the rules as “catastrophic” for the auto industry. “Nobody here is against battery electric vehicles but we are against telling the American people what they can do with their money,” James said during the debate.
The repeal measure, if successful, would not only rescind the EPA’s current regulation but also prevent the agency from issuing similar rules in the future.
The White House has already stated that President Joe Biden would veto the measure if it passed the Senate. Democrat Representative Frank Pallone, the ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, argued that Republicans are trying to “roll back common-sense air-pollution protections,” adding, “It puts the profits of corporate polluters over the health and safety of the American people.”
The EPA’s final rules, implemented in March, aim to cut emissions by 49% by 2032 compared to 2026 levels, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 7.2 billion metric tons through 2055.
These regulations are part of a broader strategy to lower transportation emissions, which account for nearly a third of the country’s total climate emissions. While supported by environmental groups and automakers like Ford Motor, the regulations have faced criticism from some Republican states and the oil industry, as well as legal challenges in the courts.
Source: Reuters
