Trump EPA to Transmit California Waivers to Congress in Accordance with Statutory Reporting Requirements
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced in the Oval Office, alongside President Donald Trump and the newly created National Energy Dominance Council, that the EPA will be transmitting to Congress the Biden Administration’s rules granting waivers that allowed California to preempt federal car and truck standards promulgated by EPA and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
“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. “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.”
The EPA rules granting California waivers transmitted to Congress include California’s Advanced Clean Cars II, Advanced Clean Trucks, and Omnibus NOx rules. The two waivers regarding trucks not only increased the cost of those vehicles but also increased the costs of goods and the cost of living for American families across the country.
In his first week at EPA, Administrator Zeldin announced his “Powering the Great American Comeback” initiative to guide EPA’s work to protect human health and the environment while restoring the greatness of the American economy for the first 100 days and beyond. Today’s action advances two of the five pillars of this initiative: Permitting Reform, Cooperative Federalism, and Cross-Agency Partnership, and Protecting and Bringing Back American Auto Jobs.