[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 150 (Wednesday, September 18, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5579-S5580]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 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

  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:

                              S. Res. 316

       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--

[[Page S5580]]

       (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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