Congressman Panetta Condemns Trump Administration’s Rollback of Fuel Economy Standards

SALINAS, CA – Today, immediately following the Trump Administration's announcement that it will seek to roll back current fuel economy and emissions standards and nullify California's waiver, Congressman Jimmy Panetta (CA-20) joined a coalition of 60 Democratic Members of Congress in announcing a resolution (H.Con.Res 130) to oppose the move. The resolution demonstrates multi-state support for the existing federal clean car standards and states' right to adopt California's more stringent standards. Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) has authored a companion resolution in the Senate.

"California has and will continue to serve as a model for the nation in the fight against climate change, despite the destructive actions of President Donald Trump to remove critical environmental protections," said Congressman Panetta. "This resolution will send a signal to the President that his shortsighted move will be met with strong and coordinated opposition across the country. The Administration must accept that climate change is real and a real threat to our future. We can continue to contribute to it or be a part of the solution to counter it."

"California has long served as a model for the nation in the fight against climate change and efforts to ensure we can all breathe clean air," said Senator Harris. "The administration has again put a target on California's back and they have chosen to protect pollution over people. Rolling back the fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards will jeopardize air quality improvements and efforts to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. This decision is not based on scientific evidence and will ultimately cost Americans money at the pump. I will fight for California's waiver and support policies that move the industry forward, provide savings for consumers, reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and help combat climate change."

"The clean car standards are already saving our families billions at the pump, supporting nearly 300,000 American jobs, and cleaning up dangerous tailpipe pollution," said Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council. "Members of Congress should join with these leaders to try and stop the Trump administration from throwing this important progress into reverse."

Current federal fuel efficiency standards established by the Obama Administration brought federal standards on par with those set by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), thereby creating the current One National Program. The CARB standards have since been adopted by 12 other states, accounting for 35 percent of the U.S. auto market, and are on track to reduce America's oil dependence by more than 2 million barrels a day and will effectively eliminate the impact of 59 million vehicles from the road by 2030.

Congressman Panetta is also a cosponsor of H.R.5226, the Clean and Efficient Cars Act of 2018, to preserve fuel economy and vehicle emissions standards that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save drivers money at the pump. The legislation would codify the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) standards that were created in 2012 for light-duty vehicle greenhouse gas emissions and Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) for model years 2021 to 2025. In March of 2017, the Trump Administration announced that the EPA and DOT would be revisiting those standards, despite the fact that the EPA issued a final determination in January 2017 to maintain them.

H.Con.Res 130 is led by Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11), and also cosponsored by Representatives Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE-At Large), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Anthony Brown (MD-04), Michael Capuano (MA-07), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Tony Cárdenas (CA-29), Matt Cartwright (PA-17), Judy Chu (CA-27), Katherine Clark (MA-05), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05), Elijah E. Cummings (MD-07), Susan Davis (CA-53), Diana DeGette (CO-01), Keith Ellison (MN-05), Anna Eshoo (CA-18), John Garamendi (CA-03), Raul Grijalva (AZ-03), Colleen Hanabusa (HI-01), Brian Higgins (NY-26), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Henry C. "Hank" Johnson (GA-04), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Ruben Kihuen (NV-04) Barbara Lee (CA-13), Ted Lieu (CA-33), Daniel Lipinski (IL-03), Zoe Lofgren (CA-19), Alan Lowenthal (CA-47), Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18), Doris Matsui (CA-06), Betty McCollum (MN-04), Donald McEachin (VA-04), Jerry McNerney (CA-09), Grace Meng (NY-06), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Ed Perlmutter (CO-07), Scott Peters (CA-52), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Jared Polis (CO-02), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40), Raul Ruiz (CA-36), Bobby Rush (IL-01), Tim Ryan (OH-13), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09) Adam Schiff (CA-28), Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01), Albio Sires (NJ-08), Thomas Suozzi (NY-03), Mike Thompson (CA-05), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Norma Torres (CA-35), and Peter Welch (VT-At Large).