Democratic lawmakers urge Trump to drop plan to kill vehicle emission limits

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, Sept 17 (Reuters) - More than 100 Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday urged the Trump administration to abandon plans to repeal vehicle emission rules.

In a letter seen by Reuters, 102 lawmakers led by Representative Doris Matsui called on the Environmental Protection Agency to drop its aim to repeal all greenhouse gas emission standards for light-duty, medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles and engines.

"Repealing the vehicle pollution standards would hamstring this growing industry, killing thousands of good-paying American jobs and ceding the future of global automotive leadership to China," the lawmakers wrote in a letter seen by Reuters.

The EPA did not immediately comment.

"If we turn our backs on clean vehicle technologies, the next generation of American vehicles will be significantly more expensive to fuel, maintain, and repair," The letter said also signed by Representatives Rick Larsen, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Jerrold Nadler. The letter said EPA’s analysis "suggests the proposal to eliminate vehicle pollution standards would result in $1.3 trillion in lost fuel and maintenance savings."

The Trump administration has taken aim at vehicle environmental rules on a number of fronts. In June, Trump signed a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act to bar California's landmark plan to end the sale of gasoline-only vehicles by 2035 and two other vehicle rules.

In June, NHTSA paved the way for looser U.S. fuel economy standards by declaring that former President Joe Biden's administration exceeded its authority by assuming high uptake of electric vehicles in calculating rules.

Trump also signed legislation eliminating penalties for automakers not meeting U.S. fuel economy standards dating back to 2022.

In July, the EPA said it will rescind the long-standing finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health, removing the legal foundation for all U.S. greenhouse gas regulations, a move that would end current limits on greenhouse gas pollution from vehicle tailpipes, power plants, smokestacks and other sources.