Title: Clean and Efficient Cars Act of 2019
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
Clean and Efficient Cars Act of 2019
This bill provides statutory authority for rules concerning corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for automobiles with model years 2021 through 2025 and greenhouse gas emission standards for light-duty vehicles (e.g., trucks) with model years 2017 through 2025. Specifically, the bill provides statutory authority for rules issued in 2012 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on the CAFE standards and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the greenhouse gas emission standards.
NHTSA and the EPA may not take actions that could reduce the stringency of the standards.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 978 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 978

To preserve appropriate and achievable Federal standards for greenhouse 
  gas emissions and corporate average fuel economy for cars and light 
        trucks through model year 2025, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 5, 2019

    Ms. Matsui (for herself, Ms. Eshoo, Ms. DeGette, Mr. Rush, Ms. 
  Schakowsky, Ms. Castor of Florida, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. McNerney, Mr. 
Welch, Mr. Lujan, Mr. Tonko, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Loebsack, Mr. 
   Cardenas, Mr. Ruiz, Mr. Peters, Ms. Barragan, Mr. Soto, Ms. Blunt 
 Rochester, and Mr. Kennedy) introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To preserve appropriate and achievable Federal standards for greenhouse 
  gas emissions and corporate average fuel economy for cars and light 
        trucks through model year 2025, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Clean and Efficient Cars Act of 
2019''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) In 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and 
        the Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic 
        Safety Administration (NHTSA) reached an historic agreement 
        with State regulators, automakers, the United Auto Workers, and 
        leaders in the environmental community to establish One 
        National Program for Federal standards to reduce greenhouse gas 
        (GHG) emissions and increase corporate average fuel economy 
        (CAFE) for light duty vehicles, in cooperation and alignment 
        with the California Air Resources Board (CARB).
            (2) In 2012, as part of One National Program, EPA 
        established final GHG emission standards for model years 2017 
        through 2025 and NHTSA established final CAFE standards for 
        model years 2017 through 2021 and augural standards for model 
        years 2022 through 2025.
            (3) The agencies' standards are based on the specific 
        footprint of vehicles to provide automotive manufacturers 
        flexibility and ensure that consumers have a choice of a full 
        range of vehicle sizes to meet their needs. Under the 
        footprint-based system, small vehicles must meet more stringent 
        standards than large vehicles.
            (4) A midterm evaluation of the standards for model years 
        2022 through 2025 concluded that they remain feasible for 
        industry, with multiple pathways for compliance, and are 
        appropriate for achieving the goals of cutting GHG emissions 
        and increasing fuel economy.
            (5) In January 2017, EPA issued a final determination to 
        maintain the existing GHG emissions standards for model years 
        2022 through 2025 as prescribed by the 2012 final rule. NHTSA 
        is currently assessing the augural CAFE standards proposed for 
        model years 2022 through 2025 and will conduct a rulemaking to 
        prescribe final standards for those years.
            (6) The final GHG emission standards and augural CAFE 
        standards for model years 2022 through 2025 are projected to 
        achieve an average overall fleet-wide emissions target of 173 
        grams CO<INF>2</INF> per mile and an average overall fleet-wide 
        fuel economy target of 46.3 miles per gallon by the year 2025, 
        resulting in a 540 million metric ton reduction in greenhouse 
        gases and a 1.2 billion barrel reduction in oil consumption 
        over the lifetime of these vehicles.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
maintaining the GHG and CAFE standards at their current levels through 
model year 2025--
            (1) is essential to achieving the projected fleet wide 
        average goals of 173 grams CO<INF>2</INF> per mile and 46.3 
        miles per gallon; and
            (2) will result in substantial benefits for American 
        drivers, the environment, public health, and energy security.

SEC. 3. NHTSA AVERAGE FUEL ECONOMY STANDARDS FOR 2021 THROUGH 2025.

    Section 32902(b)(2) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subparagraphs:
                    ``(D) Automobile fuel economy average for model 
                years 2021 through 2025.--The Secretary shall, not 
                later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 
                this subparagraph, prescribe by regulation and maintain 
                fuel economy standards for model years 2021 through 
                2025 that are at least as stringent as the final 
                standards for 2021 and the augural standards for 2022 
                through 2025 set out in the 2012 joint EPA/DOT Final 
                Rule on 2017 and Later Model Year Light-Duty Vehicle 
                Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Corporate Average Fuel 
                Economy Standards.
                    ``(E) Restriction on revising standards or creating 
                new loopholes.--The Secretary may not take any action 
                that could effectively reduce the stringency of the 
                average fuel economy standards required to be attained 
                by each fleet of passenger and non-passenger 
                automobiles manufactured for sale in the United States 
                for model years up to and including 2025, including by 
                revising the trading, transferring, availability, or 
                creation of credits.''.

SEC. 4. EPA GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION STANDARDS THROUGH 2025.

    (a) Affirming Standards.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency shall affirm, under section 202(a) of the Clean Air 
Act (42 U.S.C. 7521(a)), the greenhouse gas emission standards for 
light-duty vehicles for model years 2017 through 2025 that were 
published in the Federal Register by the Environmental Protection 
Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on 
October 15, 2012, in the final rule entitled ``2017 and Later Model 
Year Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Corporate Average 
Fuel Economy Standards'' (77 Fed. Reg. 62623), including such standards 
for model years 2022 through 2025 that were found by the Environmental 
Protection Agency to remain appropriate in the ``Final Determination on 
the Appropriateness of the Model Year 2022-2025 Light-Duty Vehicle 
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards under the Midterm Evaluation'' 
issued in January 2017.
    (b) Restriction on Revising Standards or Creating New Loopholes.--
The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency may not take 
any action that could effectively reduce the stringency of greenhouse 
gas emission standards required to be attained by each fleet of light-
duty vehicles manufactured for sale in the United States for model 
years up to and including 2025, including by revising the trading, 
transferring, availability, or creation of credits.
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