EPA’s no-show at EV hearing raises concerns.

Former DOT General Counsel Questions EPA’s Absence from House Hearing on New Tailpipe Emissions Standards

A former Department of Transportation general counsel under Donald Trump has raised concerns about the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) absence from a House hearing on the agency’s expansive new tailpipe emissions standards. Steve Bradbury, now a distinguished fellow at The Heritage Foundation, stated that he expected the EPA to brief Congress on the rules, given that the agency had published close to 2,000 pages of detailed explanation and analysis. The EPA’s rules could drive the mass adoption of electric cars over the next decade, with projections suggesting that by 2032, two-thirds of new light-body vehicles sold in the United States will be electric.

Experts and Lawmakers Divided

Bradbury spoke at a May 17 hearing of the House Oversight Committee’s economic growth subcommittee. The EPA explained its absence by citing that “the proposed rules identified as the subjects of the hearing are currently open for public comment,” according to Reuters. Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas), who chairs the economic growth subcommittee, expressed concern that executive-branch bureaucracies were “compelling” consumers to go electric. Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) argued that talk of consumer compulsion from Republicans was disingenuous before stating that the electrification of U.S. transportation was inevitable.

• Bradbury argued that the EPA’s rules impinge on the territory of Congress and the Department of Transportation.
• Baker-Branstetter of the Center for American Progress praised the EPA’s technology-neutral standards.
• The International Council on Clean Transportation predicts that two-thirds of cars bought in 2032 will be electric.

Despite the divided opinions of experts and lawmakers, the electrification of U.S. transportation appears to be an unstoppable trend. As Rep. Stansbury stated, “whether or not you want to drive an electric vehicle, I guarantee you that you are very likely to be driving [one] in the next several decades, whether you want to or not, because that is just where the industry is going.”