WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, today released the following statement on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed greenhouse gas emissions standards for light-, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles sold in Model Years 2027 through 2032.
“Today’s announcement is about cleaner air, energy security and U.S. leadership in manufacturing the clean cars of the future. Thanks to recent technological advancements and historic levels of investment through the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, electric vehicles are more affordable and in demand than ever before. In addition to providing regulatory support to where the market is already heading, EPA’s proposed vehicle emissions standards would make significant progress in our fight against climate change. They will also save Americans money at the pump and better insulate our country from the volatility of the global oil market. I am encouraged by the Biden administration‘s step toward cleaner, more efficient cars, trucks and vans, and I hope to see a final rule by the end of the year.”
Senator Carper has long been a champion for strong greenhouse gas emissions standards for our nation’s vehicles. Shortly after President Biden took office, Carper laid out a vision for how EPA could adopt standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the automotive industry and eliminate tailpipe pollution from new cars by 2035. In a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan, Senator Carper urged the agency to enact standards that would result in half of all new vehicles sold in the United States being zero-emissions vehicles by 2030.
Carper has also worked tirelessly to protect the ability of states and the federal government to establish vehicle emissions standards from legal challenges this year:
- January 20, 2023 – Carper and House Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone filed an amicus brief defending states’ clean cars authority.
- March 3, 2023 – Carper and Pallone filed an additional amicus brief defending EPA’s authority to establish vehicle emissions standards.
- April 4, 2023 – Carper and Pallone again filed an amicus brief defending the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s fuel economy standards.
