Nearly 100 U.S. lawmakers Thursday are insisting President Biden’s administration finalize stricter emissions limits.
A handful of Democratic senators joined nearly 80 House members in urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to firm up regulations on tailpipe emissions. Their objective is to establish revised limits that would lead to 69% of newly manufactured vehicles being electric by 2032, surpassing the agency's previously proposed target of 67%.
"We believe the United States should be on a path to eliminating harmful tailpipe pollution from new light-duty and medium-duty vehicles by 2035," the lawmakers wrote in the previously unreported letter.
The EPA proposed emissions limits back in April, prompting opposition from most automakers. The EPA said in April that the standards proposed for 2027-2032 model years would cut emissions by 56% over the 2026 requirements but sought comment on a tougher option.
Republican lawmakers and Republican state attorneys general have urged the EPA to abandon emissions cuts. A group representing major automakers wants the administration to significantly soften requirements, calling the EPA proposal "neither reasonable nor achievable", while environmental campaigners want tougher cuts.
The Democratic lawmakers are urging the EPA to finalize a tougher proposal by the end of the year, citing "the urgency of and benefits from addressing threats to public health, including climate change, the unprecedented resources supporting zero-emission vehicle purchases, manufacturing and infrastructure, and the dramatic advances in clean vehicle adoption."