US House votes to repeal Biden administration tailpipe emissions rules

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives voted narrowly on Friday to repeal clean-vehicle rules adopted in March to cut tailpipe emissions by 50% from 2026 levels by 2032.

House Republicans said the Environmental Protection Agency's final regulation for light-duty and medium vehicles is so stringent it leaves automakers no choice but to ramp up electric-vehicle production and would effectively push gas-powered vehicles out of the U.S. marketplace. The White House said President Joe Biden would veto the measure if it is approved by the U.S. Senate.

The House voted 215 to 191 with eight Democrats joining 207 Republicans in support.

Republican John James called the rules "catastrophic" for the auto industry. "Nobody here is against battery electric vehicles but we are against telling the American people what they can do with their money," he said.

If successful, the measure would repeal the EPA rules and bar it from imposing future regulations.

Representative Frank Pallone, the top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, said Republicans want to "roll back common-sense air-pollution protections."

"It puts the profits of corporate polluters over the health and safety of the American people."

Pallone said transportation accounts for nearly one-third of total climate emissions and the EPA rules.

The final rules adopted in March by the EPA slashed the agency's target for U.S. EV adoption from 67% by 2032 to as little as 35% after backlash from the industry and auto workers and won support from Ford Motor and environmental groups.

The EPA said the rules cut emissions by 49% by 2032 from 2026 levels and will reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 7.2 billion metric tons through 2055.

Republican Donald Trump has vowed to repeal the rules if elected as president. The final regulation also faces a court challenge from many Republican states and oil industry groups.

Vice President Kamala Harris's Democratic presidential campaign has said she does not support an EV mandate but notes the Biden administration championed legislation to boost tax credits and incentives for EV and battery production.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Rod Nickel)