WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) – The Republican majority on a panel of the US House of Representatives criticized two Environmental Protection Agency officials who on Wednesday refused to appear at a hearing on a proposal by President Joe Biden’s administration to cut greenhouse gas emissions. vehicles and boost sales of electric vehicles .
A House Oversight Republican Majority spokesperson said that “the EPA’s excuse for not showing up for this week’s subcommittee hearing lacks any logic,” noting the recent testimony of EPA Administrator Michael Regan.
A House Oversight subcommittee had invited Sarah Dunham, director of the Office of Transportation and Air Quality, and Joseph Goffman, official of the Office of Air and Radiation, to appear at the hearing titled “Driving Bad Policy: Examining EPA’s Tailpipe Emissions Rules and the Realities of a Rapid Electric Vehicle Transition.”
Last month, the EPA proposed sharp emissions reductions estimated to result in 60% of new vehicles being electric by 2030 and 67% by 2032. The EPA projected that the 2027-2032 model year rules would cut more than 9 billion tons of CO2 emissions. reduction to 2055 with net benefits to 2055 from the proposal ranging from $850 billion to $1.6 trillion.
EPA said the requested witnesses had previously scheduled meetings with lawmakers and others on Wednesday, preventing their participation and because the proposed rules are “currently open to public comment.”
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has no new proposed fuel economy standards yet.
Steven Bradbury, a transportation department official under former President Donald Trump, will tell lawmakers “by acting on its own, ahead of NHTSA, to dictate draconian new cuts in carbon dioxide emission limits for future model years of vehicles, EPA has completely rendered irrelevant NHTSA’s judgment on appropriate fuel economy standards for those same fleets.”
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told Reuters last week that NHTSA would “soon” unveil its fuel economy proposal.
Last week, an auto trade group warned that the EPA proposal may rest on a too-fast transition to electric cars and pose significant challenges.
Reporting by David Shepardson Edited by Chris Reese