WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Could the current vehicle emissions standards under the Environmental Protection Agency be in danger? Congressional Republicans and President-elect Trump are taking a hard look at the standards.
A key piece of President Biden’s legacy is on the chopping block.
“I think what President Trump is going to bring is a good dose of common sense to improvements in environmental standards,” said Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-N.Y.).
New York Congressman Nick Langworthy says many of President Biden’s climate goals like stricter tailpipe emissions and the push toward electric vehicles need to be re-evaluated.
West Virginia Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito wants to repeal the parts of the Inflation Reduction Act that deal with climate change.
“A lot of what they have in there is spending on green bank and environmental justice,” Moore Capito said.
Now that Republicans will have control of Congress Moore Capito believes they can make major changes to President Biden’s environmental policies.
“Clawing back some of the regulatory areas that we’ve seen the Biden administration overreach,” Moore Capito said.
Tennessee Republican Senator Bill Hagerty says Trump supports the technology.
“He’s just against an overreaching bureaucracy that tries to dictate the behavior and control Americans,” Hagerty said.
Delaware Democratic Senator Chris Coons says the U.S. must increase electric vehicle manufacturing.
“I think there is a clean energy transition underway worldwide. The Chinese are currently the dominant global manufacturer of electric vehicles,” Coons said.
Coons says he remains optimistic that Congress will work in a bipartisan way to keep car climate goals.
