[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2643 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2643

To clarify the effect of certain final rules and determinations of the 
 Environmental Protection Agency relating to greenhouse gas emissions 
                   standards for light-duty vehicles.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 10, 2018

Mr. Markey (for himself, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Van Hollen, Ms. Smith, Mr. 
Blumenthal, Mr. Merkley, and Mr. Bennet) introduced the following bill; 
 which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 
                              Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To clarify the effect of certain final rules and determinations of the 
 Environmental Protection Agency relating to greenhouse gas emissions 
                   standards for light-duty vehicles.

    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 ``Greener Air Standards Mean Our 
National security, Environment, and Youth Saved Act'' or the ``GAS 
MONEY Saved Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) in 2009, the National Highway Traffic Safety 
        Administration of the Department of Transportation and the 
        Environmental Protection Agency reached an historic agreement 
        with State regulators, automakers, the International Union, 
        United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement 
        Workers of America, and leaders in the environmental community 
        to establish a program of Federal standards, known as ``One 
        National Program'', to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and 
        increase corporate average fuel economy for light-duty 
        vehicles, in cooperation and alignment with the California Air 
        Resources Board;
            (2) in 2012, as part of One National Program--
                    (A) the Environmental Protection Agency established 
                final greenhouse gas emission standards for vehicles of 
                model years 2017 through 2025; and
                    (B) the National Highway Traffic Safety 
                Administration established final--
                            (i) corporate average fuel economy 
                        standards for vehicles of model years 2017 
                        through 2021; and
                            (ii) augural standards for vehicles of 
                        model years 2022 through 2025;
            (3)(A) the standards described in paragraph (2) are based 
        on the specific footprint of vehicles for the purposes of--
                    (i) providing automotive manufacturers flexibility; 
                and
                    (ii) ensuring that consumers have a choice of a 
                full range of vehicle sizes to meet their needs; and
            (B) under that footprint-based system, small vehicles are 
        required to meet more stringent standards than large vehicles;
            (4) the Environmental Protection Agency, together with the 
        National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the 
        California Air Resources Board, jointly published a robust 
        research and analysis document, known as the ``Technical 
        Assessment Report'', that clearly demonstrated that the 
        existing standards are technically feasible and cost-effective;
            (5) in January 2017, the Environmental Protection Agency 
        issued a final determination to maintain the existing 
        greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles of model years 
        2022 through 2025, as prescribed by the final rule described in 
        paragraph (2)(A), noting that the standards could have been 
        strengthened but were not, in order to ensure certainty for the 
        automobile manufacturers;
            (6) the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration--
                    (A) as of the date of enactment of this Act, is 
                assessing the augural standards described in paragraph 
                (2)(B)(ii); and
                    (B) will conduct a rulemaking to prescribe final 
                standards for vehicles of model years 2022 through 
                2025; and
            (7) on April 2, 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency 
        issued a final determination entitled ``Mid-term Evaluation of 
        Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Model Year 2022-2025 
        Light-duty Vehicles'', which--
                    (A) rejected an extensive technical record that--
                            (i) includes more than 2,000 pages; and
                            (ii) was created through--
                                    (I) a research period of 8 years;
                                    (II) a review of several hundred 
                                published reports;
                                    (III) hundreds of stakeholder 
                                meetings; and
                                    (IV) multiple opportunities for 
                                public comment;
                    (B) failed--
                            (i) to take into consideration extensive 
                        peer-reviewed publications, including from the 
                        technical staff of the Environmental Protection 
                        Agency, demonstrating the ability of automobile 
                        manufacturers to meet the standards described 
                        in paragraph (2) through model year 2025; and
                            (ii) to provide evidence to refute the 
                        findings contained in the final determination 
                        of the Environmental Protection Agency entitled 
                        ``Final Determination on the Appropriateness of 
                        the Model Year 2022-2025 Light-Duty Vehicle 
                        Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards under the 
                        Midterm Evaluation'' and dated January 12, 
                        2017, that--
                                    (I) automobile manufacturers are 
                                well positioned, and have a wide range 
                                of technology pathways available, to 
                                meet the standards described in 
                                paragraph (2) at lower costs than 
                                previously estimated; and
                                    (II) although the technical record 
                                indicated that those standards could be 
                                made more stringent, maintaining the 
                                standards would provide regulatory 
                                certainty for the automobile industry; 
                                and
                    (C) was not based on a complete technical review of 
                the evidence, but was an attack on the largest climate 
                policy in effect on the date of the final 
                determination.

SEC. 3. GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS STANDARDS FOR LIGHT-DUTY VEHICLES.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding the notice of the Environmental 
Protection Agency entitled ``Mid-term Evaluation of Greenhouse Gas 
Emissions Standards for Model Year 2022-2025 Light-duty Vehicles'' and 
dated April 2, 2018, the following shall have the force and effect of 
law:
            (1) The final rule of the Environmental Protection Agency 
        entitled ``2017 and Later Model Year Light-Duty Vehicle 
        Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Corporate Average Fuel Economy 
        Standards'' (77 Fed. Reg. 62624 (October 15, 2012)) (as in 
        effect on April 1, 2018).
            (2) The final determination of the Environmental Protection 
        Agency entitled ``Final Determination on the Appropriateness of 
        the Model Year 2022-2025 Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas 
        Emissions Standards under the Midterm Evaluation'' and dated 
        January 12, 2017 (as in effect on April 1, 2018).
    (b) Limitation on Certain Actions.--The Administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency may not issue any rules or take any 
action that would effectively reduce the stringency of greenhouse gas 
emissions standards required to be attained by each fleet of light-duty 
vehicles manufactured for sale in the United States for model years 
2022 through 2025 under the regulation described in subsection (a)(1), 
as affirmed by the final determination described in subsection (a)(2).
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