Peace Garden News

U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer from North Dakota has joined forces with other Republican senators to co-sponsor four bills aimed at countering the Biden administration's electric vehicle (EV) mandates. These regulations have been criticized for pushing manufacturers toward producing more EVs and phasing out gasoline-powered vehicles.

Senator Cramer stated, “For four long years, the Biden administration pushed EV mandate after EV mandate, attempting to force consumers toward costly vehicles,” emphasizing that the proposed legislation seeks to reverse what he describes as burdensome rules and restore consumer choice in automotive markets.

The first of these legislative efforts is the Choice in Automobile Retail Sales (CARS) Act, spearheaded by U.S. Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho. This bill aims to repeal the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final tailpipe emissions standards for passenger cars and trucks, which are seen as effectively mandating electric vehicles. The act also intends to ensure that future regulations do not restrict new vehicle availability based on engine type.

U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin from Oklahoma introduced the Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act. This legislation seeks to maintain consumer choice and market competition by blocking the implementation of the EPA’s Advanced Clean Cars II regulation, which proposes banning all conventional gasoline-powered car sales by 2035.

The Freedom to Haul Act, put forward by U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska, aims to protect the trucking industry from costly mandates by preventing enforcement of the EPA’s “Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles – Phase 3” rule, described as an implicit EV mandate for trucks.

Lastly, U.S. Senator Mike Lee from Utah presented the Stop California from Advancing Regulatory Burden (Stop CARB) Act. This bill targets Clean Air Act waiver exemptions that allow California and other states to impose emissions standards stricter than those set by the EPA. According to Lee, these waivers lead to increased costs and reduced consumer choice due to over 100 active waivers setting higher standards than federal levels.