U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, the Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, addressed the Senate GOP Leadership Press Conference in Washington, D.C., discussing a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA). This resolution aims to repeal California’s waiver that bans the sale of new gas-powered light-duty vehicles by 2035.
Senator Capito expressed her leadership role in this matter: “As Chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, I am the one who is leading the California waiver Congressional Review Act.”
She criticized the waiver, stating, “The onerous quality of this rule is just beyond description, not just the penalties, forcing certain states and certain consumers to purchase a vehicle that they may not want or that they can’t find. It really eliminates what I think our country was built on, which is individual choice and making the decisions for yourselves.”
Capito also commented on the timing of the Biden administration’s decision: “I think the one thing that’s interesting about this mandate is the Biden administration – California asked for this waiver in May of 2023. It was not granted until the very end of December of 2024. You know why? Because they know the American people reject this handily.”
Regarding legislative procedures, she noted: “The Trump administration, under Administrator Zeldin’s leadership, submitted it as a rule; it is a rule submitted to [Congress], it is within the boundaries of the Congressional Review Act.”
