GOP senators, Manchin introduce bill blocking EPA’s electric vehicle mandates

Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., are leading a coalition of 25 Senate Republicans who have introduced legislation to block implementation of the EPA’s tailpipe emissions rules.

The Choice in Automobile Retail Sales Act (CARS), which was introduced Thursday, is a companion to a House bill introduced in July by Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich. If passed, the legislation would strike down an ambitious EPA proposal introduced in April that would require as much as 67% of new sedans, crossovers and light trucks to be electric by 2032.

Additionally, the rules would require 50% of new buses and garbage trucks, 35% of new short-haul freight trucks and 25% of new long-haul freight trucks to be electric by 2032.

The CARS Act, which is co-sponsored by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., would also prohibit regulations that mandate the use of a specific technology or limit the availability of new vehicles based on their engine type, according to Fox News.

The House companion bill received support from various industry groups, including the American Petroleum Institute, the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers.

Automotive industry groups have also spoken out against the EPA rules.

The National Automotive Dealers Association (NADA) called the rules “too far, too fast” and the Alliance for Automotive Innovation said they are “neither reasonable nor achievable in the time frame provided.”

The NADA filed comments opposing the rule and endorsed Walberg’s and Crapo’s bill.