Biden threatens veto if Congress moves to hamper EPA requirements

President Joe Biden threatened to use his veto powers if Congress moved to hamper his administration’s move to institute stricter environmental regulations.

The Choice in Automobile Retail Sales, or CARS, Act is set to be voted on in the coming week. The bill would block Environmental Protection Agency tailpipe emissions efforts that critics claim would devastate the U.S. auto industry. The Biden administration announced that it would repeal the bill if it made it to the president’s desk.

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“The Administration strongly opposes H.R. 4468, which would prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from finalizing, implementing, or enforcing a proposed rule with respect to multi-pollutant emissions standards from passenger cars and light trucks,” a statement of administrative policy said. It added that the bill also contains provisions that would “catastrophically” prevent the EPA from issuing regulations to “protect public health, save consumers money, strengthen American energy security, and protect American investments in the vehicle technologies of the future.”

The statement countered the claims of critics that the EPA’s new measures would jeopardize the U.S. economy, instead arguing the measures would ensure economic prosperity in the short and long term.

“These proposed standards are key to ensuring that the United States continues to lead on developing and manufacturing low-cost clean-vehicle technologies of the future,” it continued. “Nationwide, companies have announced more than $150 billion in investments, across nearly 400 facilities, in U.S. electric vehicle and battery manufacturing. H.R. 4468 would undermine these investments and chill future progress. EPA’s proposed standards are also key to expanding vehicle choice and savings for American drivers.”

The statement also took aim at the claim in the title of the bill that it would restore choice to people. The administration argued that the regulations would give consumers a greater variety of choices.

“More than 100 electric vehicle models are now available in U.S. markets alongside hybrid and gas-powered options, giving Americans unprecedented flexibility in where and how they choose to fuel,” it said. “By driving continued development of more efficient vehicles, EPA’s standards are also projected to save Americans $12,000 over the lifetime of a new light-duty vehicle by accelerating adoption of technologies that reduce fuel and maintenance costs alongside pollution. H.R. 4468 would undermine all of these benefits, harming American consumers, companies, and workers.”

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“If the President were presented with H.R. 4468, he would veto it,” it concluded.

According to American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, which supports the legislation, the bill is intended to counter a new move by the EPA to require around 70% of new car and truck sales to have no tailpipe emissions in under 10 years.