{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.lummis.senate.gov/press-releases/lummis-gop-colleagues-lead-charge-against-california-air-resources-board-to-protect-consumer-choice/", "Lummis, GOP Colleagues Lead Charge Against California Air Resources Board to Protect Consumer Choice", "2026-08-06", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "Senate", "WY", "Cynthia M. Lummis", "L000571", "www.lummis.senate.gov", "lummis", "https://www.lummis.senate.gov/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "Washington D.C. \u2014 U.S. Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), and Jon Husted (R-OH) today introduced four joint resolutions under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), each disapproving a separate Environmental Protection Agency waiver that has allowed the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to impose its regulatory agenda far beyond California\u2019s borders.\n\nTogether, the four resolutions target CARB\u2019s small off-road engine (SORE) mandate, the Advanced Clean Cars I program, the 2013 Advanced Clean Car Program waiver, and the 2009 waiver that first allowed California to regulate vehicle greenhouse gas emissions.\n\n\u201cCalifornia\u2019s climate zealots have run roughshod over the rest of the country for too long,\u201d said Senator Lummis. \u201cUnder Governor Newsom, Sacramento has decided it can dictate what Wyoming families drive and what equipment our small businesses use. That ends today. I\u2019m proud to lead this fight to reclaim Congress\u2019s authority and stop California from legislating for the entire nation.\u201d\n\n\u201cCalifornia\u2019s burdensome emissions requirements continue to punish American manufacturers, reduce consumer choice, and raise prices for American families,\u201d said Senator Schmitt. \u201cOne state should not have the power to set national policy and dictate what products Americans use far beyond its borders. Overturning these climate alarmist rules will not only restore common sense, but also prevent a future administration from attempting to grant similar waivers. I\u2019m proud to lead the Congressional Review Act resolution to repeal the EPA-California State Motor Vehicle Control Standards Waiver and join Senators Ricketts, Husted, and Lummis in our effort to help make life more affordable for American families.\u201d\n\n\u201cBiden\u2019s overregulation and red tape regime cost Nebraskans millions of dollars,\u201d said Senator Ricketts. \u201cThey used California policies as a backdoor EV mandate and even tried to control how we cut our grass. I am proud to lead the effort to overturn these restrictions and restore commonsense. I will continue to fight for policies that empower our families, farmers, and ranchers.\u201d\n\n\u201cOhioans shouldn\u2019t be forced to follow California\u2019s lead when it comes to policies that make everyday life more expensive and less convenient,\u201d said Senator Husted. \u201cThese resolutions are part of our work to make life more affordable for working families, restore common sense, cut unnecessary red tape and put consumers back in control. I\u2019m proud to support this effort to lower costs and protect consumer choice.\u201d\n\nEndorsements\n\n\u201cFor over a decade, California has tried to abuse the Clean Air Act waiver process to set national policy that Congress never approved, unilaterally deciding what cars Americans can buy and what equipment they can own in their own garages. These four CRAs, led by Senators Ricketts, Husted, Schmitt, and Lummis, undo that end-run and restore a single national standard set by Congress instead of CARB regulators. We urge the full Senate to pass all four and give American consumers back the final say over the vehicles and equipment they choose. Affordability should be top-of-mind for Congress into the fall.\u201d \u2013 Brent Gardner, Chief Government Affairs Officer, Americans for Prosperity\n\n\u201cAffordability is the number one issue for Latinos and Americans, and it should be top-of-mind issue for Congress. For years, California has leveraged the Clean Air Act waiver process to set burdensome regulations on everything from vehicles, gas-powered equipment, and other products. The four Congressional Review Act resolutions led by Senators Ricketts, Husted, Schmitt, and Lummis restore Congressional oversight of this process. And we urge the Senate to pass all four to give American consumers the flexibility they deserve when purchasing goods.\u201d \u2013 Sandra Benitez, Executive Director, The LIBRE Initiative\n\nBackground:\n\nThe Clean Air Act gave California a narrow carve-out to seek EPA waivers for emissions rules stricter than federal law \u2014 a modest exception meant to address the state\u2019s unique smog problem in the 1970s. California has since hijacked that carve-out, weaponizing its market share to force manufacturers nationwide to build to Sacramento\u2019s rules rather than maintain separate production lines. An unelected state board now dictates national policy that Congress never approved, and most Americans never voted for.\n\nUnder Governor Newsom, CARB has abandoned any pretense of addressing local air quality and turned the waiver process into a backdoor for imposing a radical climate agenda on the entire country \u2014 banning the gas-powered cars, trucks, and equipment that American families and small businesses rely on every day, without a single vote in Congress.\n\nThese four resolutions build on the precedent Congress set last year, when lawmakers used the CRA to strike down three other California power grabs \u2014 Advanced Clean Cars II, Advanced Clean Trucks, and the Omnibus NOx Rule. It\u2019s time to finish the job and end California\u2019s hijacking of national policy for good.\n\nSmall Off-Road Engine (SORE) CRA: California has increasingly used its Clean Air Act waiver authority to adopt regulations with effects extending beyond the state\u2019s borders. This CRA would overturn EPA\u2019s waiver for California\u2019s Small Off-Road Engine (SORE) rule, reversing the state\u2019s phaseout of gas-powered small engines. As a result, products such as chainsaws, lawn mowers, and power washers would no longer be required to transition to zero-emission technology.\n\nClick here for text.\n\nCalifornia State Motor Vehicle Control Standards CRA: In 2009, the Obama EPA granted California a Clean Air Act waiver allowing the state to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from vehicles as pollutants California may regulate, creating a pathway for California\u2019s standards to influence national vehicle regulations without new legislation from Congress. That waiver underpinned several subsequent federal vehicle emissions regulations, including those addressed in other CRAs. This resolution would disapprove the 2009 waiver and prohibit EPA from issuing substantially similar waivers in the future.\n\nClick here for text.\n\nAdvanced Clean Cars I (ACC I) CRA: This EPA rule allows California to impose vehicle emissions requirements stricter than federal standards for passenger vehicles through model year 2025. This has resulted in a push towards electric vehicles across the nation.\n\nClick here for text.\n\nACC I Reconsideration CRA: In 2022, the Biden EPA reinstated California\u2019s Clean Air Act waiver for its Advanced Clean Cars (ACC I) program after the Trump administration had revoked it, restoring the state\u2019s authority to enforce its greenhouse gas emissions and zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) sales requirements for model years 2017\u20132025. This resolution would disapprove the 2022 EPA rule reinstating the ACC I waiver.\n\nClick here for text.\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-07T06:11:19Z", "2026-08-07T06:12:42Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.lummis.senate.gov/press-releases/lummis-gop-colleagues-lead-charge-against-california-air-resources-board-to-protect-consumer-choice/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6069659031927586, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}