US House votes to block California's 2035 ban on sale of new gas-powered cars

WASHINGTON (KGO) -- Congressional Republicans are ramping up efforts to undo 1 of California's astir ambitious clime policies: a program to extremity the merchantability of caller gas-powered vehicles by 2035.

On Thursday, the U.S. House voted 246-164 to walk a solution to override California's policy. The determination straight challenges a waiver the Environmental Protection Agency granted to the authorities past December. Under the Clean Air Act, the authorities is capable to acceptable stricter conveyance emissions standards than national argumentation with support from the EPA. Since the Golden State approved these rules successful 2022, eleven different states person agreed to follow akin policies and marque the gradual power to emissions-free vehicles only.

RELATED: In propulsion for zero emissions, California bans income of caller gasoline-powered cars by 2035

It's unclear if the measurement volition wide the Senate, wherever its parliamentarian - the precocious chamber's nonpartisan rules authorization - already declared that lawmakers cannot claw backmost this regularisation nether the Congressional Rules Act (CRA). That instrumentality allows Congress to reverse definite regulations with a elemental bulk ballot successful some the House and Senate. Both the parliamentarian and the Government Accountability Office, which issues ineligible opinions, said the CRA cannot beryllium utilized to revoke the EPA's waiver successful this case.

U.S. Rep. Kevin Mullin, D-Daly City, defended the state's close to make stricter emanation standards.

"The consequences of this are real. Toxic aerial contamination causes asthma, bosom illness and contributes to implicit 100,000 deaths successful America each year," helium said. "We person a motivation work to support our residents from unnecessary toxic aerial contamination and biology harm."

Federal numbers enactment California 2nd lone to Texas erstwhile it comes to transportation-related c dioxide emissions.

But GOP lawmakers, including Representatives Jay Obernolte, R-Big Bear Lake, and Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, argued the argumentation is an overreach. They claimed it limits user prime and burdens automakers with the situation of gathering antithetic standards for antithetic states.

"I hap to thrust an EV myself. It works good for wherever I unrecorded and for my lifestyle. But I would ne'er deliberation to usage the coercive powers of authorities to enforce my idiosyncratic preferences arsenic a user connected everyone else," Kiley said. "It puts manufacturers successful a dilemma if they person to manufacture 1 motortruck for 1 state."

Environmental experts pushed backmost connected that argument. UC Berkeley Earth Sciences Professor Ron Cohen warned that pulling backmost enactment for electrical conveyance incentives could jeopardize the U.S. car industry's future.

"We're successful the midst of transitioning to an all-electric future," helium said. "Anything that slows down that modulation and disrupts it and makes it little predictable, makes it much costly for america to deliberation done and much disruptive."

RELATED: California leads the mode successful zero-emission transportation, but determination are inactive challenges to overcome

Cohen said if this yet makes it done Congress and is signed by the president, the consequences volition beryllium broader than conscionable biology harm.

"California has been a pioneer successful creating the electrical conveyance manufacture successful galore ways passim the world," Cohen said. "It was California regulations that provided incentives to physique electrical vehicles. And truthful putting an extremity to those incentives, now, erstwhile China and Europe and different countries are truthful profoundly invested successful an all-electric future, puts the United States system astatine hazard of a car manufacture that volition nary longer beryllium palmy successful the future."

Governor Gavin Newsom issued a connection aft the vote, criticizing the determination arsenic partisan.

"Trump Republicans are hellbent connected making California smoggy again. Clean aerial didn't utilized to beryllium political." Newsom said.

The measurement present heads to the U.S. Senate, wherever its way guardant remains uncertain. A spokesperson for Senator Adam Schiff told ABC7 that if the Senate proceeds, Republicans volition beryllium "going against the rulings of the Senate Parliamentarian, the GAO, and astir 60 years of U.S. biology policy."