Title: A 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.
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
This concurrent resolution supports existing regulations with the goals of (1) reducing greenhouse gas emissions and oil usage, and (2) protecting national security and human health and welfare. The concurrent resolution also supports policies that will help meet these goals, such as policies that achieve maximum feasible reductions in oil use.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 316 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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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;
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;
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 light-duty vehicle GHG 
emissions standards and fuel economy 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

    (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

    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) supports the existing set of regulations, known as the 
        ``One National Program'', which contains the goals of--
                    (A) reducing greenhouse gas (referred to in this 
                resolving clause as ``GHG'') emissions and oil usage;
                    (B) protecting national security; and
                    (C) protecting human health and welfare; and
            (2) to meet those goals, supports policies that--
                    (A) achieve maximum feasible reductions in oil use;
                    (B) reduce GHG emissions from mobile sources;
                    (C) recognize the rights and importance of States 
                under cooperative federalism to choose to set and 
                follow vehicle emissions standards under the Clean Air 
                Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) that are stronger than 
                those set by the Federal Government; and
                    (D) ensure that the President, the Secretary of 
                Transportation, and the Administrator of the 
                Environmental Protection Agency solicit input from 
                State parties impacted by any changes to the existing 
                GHG emissions standards for light-duty vehicles and the 
                associated standards for corporate average fuel 
                economy.
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