[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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