III 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 316 

Supporting the clean vehicle emissions standards of the United States and 

defending the authority of States under the Clean Air Act to protect 

the people of those States from harmful air pollution. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019 

Ms. HARRIS (for herself, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, 

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. 

SCHATZ, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. CARPER, Mr. BENNET, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, 

Mr. COONS, Ms. WARREN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. HIRONO, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. REED, Ms. SMITH, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. 

CARDIN, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. KAINE, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. LEAHY, Mrs. 

SHAHEEN, Mr. UDALL, Mr. CASEY, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mrs. MURRAY, Ms. 

DUCKWORTH, and Mr. DURBIN) submitted the following resolution; which 

was referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting the clean vehicle emissions standards of the 

United States and defending the authority of States 

under the Clean Air Act to protect the people of those 

States from harmful air pollution. 

Whereas Congress enacted the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 

7401 et seq.), which requires the Administrator of the 

Environmental Protection Agency (referred to in this preamble as the ‘‘EPA’’) to set standards controlling air pollutant emissions from motor vehicles to prevent the 

endangerment of public health and welfare; 


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•SRES 316 IS 

Whereas motor vehicle pollution contributes to serious health 

problems faced by the people of the United States, including— 

(1) asthma attacks; 

(2) heart attacks; 

(3) lung cancer; and 

(4) premature death; 

Whereas, through climate change, greenhouse gas (referred to 

in this preamble as ‘‘GHG’’) emissions from motor vehicles contribute to other health burdens, including— 

(1) worsened air pollution; 

(2) extreme heat; 

(3) increased spread of infectious diseases; and 

(4) exacerbated natural disasters; 

Whereas all people of the United States are vulnerable to the 

health impacts of GHGs, but many individuals and communities are at a greater risk of experiencing those impacts, including— 

(1) children; 

(2) the elderly; 

(3) individuals with lung and heart disease; 

(4) low-income communities; and 

(5) communities of color; 

Whereas recent reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on 

Climate Change and the United States Global Change 

Research Program affirm the need to mitigate climate 

change and the effects of climate change; 

Whereas section 209 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7543) 

preserves the authority of the State of California to set 

vehicle emissions standards that, in the aggregate, are at 

least as protective of public health and welfare as applicable Federal vehicle emissions standards; 


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•SRES 316 IS 

Whereas section 177 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7507) 

allows States other than California to adopt, in lieu of 

the Federal requirements, the standards set by the State 

of California, which, in the aggregate, are at least as protective of public health and welfare as applicable Federal 

vehicle emissions standards; 

Whereas the EPA has authority under the Clean Air Act (42 

U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) to regulate GHG emissions from vehicles; 

Whereas the States of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, 

Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, 

Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and 

Washington have exercised the authority to adopt, pursuant to the rights of those States preserved under section 

177 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7507), vehicle emissions standards adopted by the State of California that, 

in the aggregate, are at least as protective of public 

health and welfare as the otherwise applicable standards 

set by the Federal Government; 

Whereas the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 

6201 et seq.) and the Ten-in-Ten Fuel Economy Act 

(Public Law 110–140; 121 Stat. 1498) require the Secretary of Transportation to set maximum feasible corporate average fuel economy standards, with the ultimate 

goal of promoting energy savings and reducing oil consumption; 

Whereas the Federal Government, the State of California, 

and the automobile industry have agreed to a coordinated 

set of regulations, known as the ‘‘One National Program’’, that— 

(1) aligns, as closely as possible, the Federal lightduty vehicle GHG emissions standards and fuel economy 


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•SRES 316 IS 

standards for vehicles of model year 2012 and each 

model year thereafter with the light-duty vehicle GHG 

emissions standards and fuel economy standards adopted 

by the State of California; and 

(2) sets achievable standards for light-duty vehicle 

GHG emissions and fuel economy that increase in stringency through model year 2025; 

Whereas the EPA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the California Air Resources Board 

have collaborated on an extensive analysis that clearly 

demonstrates that the Federal GHG emissions standards 

and the Federal fuel economy standards adopted in 2012 

for model years 2017 through 2025— 

(1) can be met with a wide range of technologies; 

(2) are expected to be met with advanced gasoline 

technologies; and 

(3) will accommodate contemporary consumer purchasing trends; 

Whereas in January 2017, the Administrator of the EPA 

issued a final determination to maintain the existing 

GHG emissions standards for vehicles of model year 

2022 through 2025, based on the extensive technical 

record showing that those standards are appropriate and 

achievable; 

Whereas the light-duty vehicle GHG emissions and fuel economy standards of the United States— 

(1) support more than 288,000 automobile manufacturing jobs across 1,200 facilities in the United States; 

(2) keep automobile companies in the United States 

globally competitive as other countries adopt strict clean 

vehicle emissions standards; and 


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•SRES 316 IS 

(3) protect consumers in the United States from 

dirtier and more costly technology; 

Whereas the transportation sector has surpassed the energy 

sector as the largest source of GHG emissions in the 

United States; 

Whereas the light-duty vehicle GHG emissions and fuel economy standards of the United States, if fully implemented 

through model year 2025, will— 

(1) reduce the consumption of oil in the United 

States by 2,400,000 barrels per day; 

(2) save consumers in the United States 

$130,000,000,000 at the gas pump by 2030; and 

(3) reduce GHG emissions in the United States by 

470,000,000 metric tons by 2030; 

Whereas the light-duty vehicle GHG emissions and fuel economy standards of the United States protect low-income 

communities and communities of color from being disproportionately affected by public health and economic 

burdens; and 

Whereas 87 percent of people in the United States— 

(1) support maintaining strong clean vehicle emissions standards; and 

(2) want automakers to continue to improve fuel 

economy for all types of vehicles: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) supports the existing set of regulations, 

3 known as the ‘‘One National Program’’, which con4 tains the goals of— 


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•SRES 316 IS 

1 (A) reducing greenhouse gas (referred to 

2 in this resolving clause as ‘‘GHG’’) emissions 

3 and oil usage; 

4 (B) protecting national security; and 

5 (C) protecting human health and welfare; 

6 and 

7 (2) to meet those goals, supports policies that— 

8 (A) achieve maximum feasible reductions 

9 in oil use; 

10 (B) reduce GHG emissions from mobile 

11 sources; 

12 (C) recognize the rights and importance of 

13 States under cooperative federalism to choose to 

14 set and follow vehicle emissions standards 

15 under the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et 

16 seq.) that are stronger than those set by the 

17 Federal Government; and 

18 (D) ensure that the President, the Sec19 retary of Transportation, and the Administrator 

20 of the Environmental Protection Agency solicit 

21 input from State parties impacted by any 

22 changes to the existing GHG emissions stand23 ards for light-duty vehicles and the associated 

24 standards for corporate average fuel economy. 

Æ 


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