Hirono, Colleagues Urge Trump’s EPA to Reverse Rollback of Vehicle Emissions Standards, Stop Attacks on Clean Air

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) and 9 colleagues in sending a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin, urging the agency to reverse course on the elimination of federal standards for greenhouse gas emissions from passenger cars and medium and heavy-duty trucks. The EPA's move is enabled by the Trump EPA's proposal to get rid of the 2009 finding that greenhouse gas emissions threaten our health and welfare by contributing to climate change, which is the underlying basis for EPA's regulatory ability to address tailpipe climate pollution. The Trump administration's proposed clean vehicles rollback would decimate regulations that reduce greenhouse gases and air pollution from cars; the current standards on the books are projected to save drivers $6,000 over the next five years by cutting fuel costs and eventually prevent up to 2,500 premature deaths per year thanks to less pollution from vehicles.

In the letter, the lawmakers write, "If the Trump administration persists with eliminating federal vehicle greenhouse gas emissions standards, it will be responsible for damaging the environment, hurting public health, costing drivers money, cutting American jobs and competitiveness, and increasing our dependence on foreign oil."

The lawmakers conclude, "Americans should be able to drive and share the road with cleaner, more efficient vehicles that help clean up our air, save families money at the pump, and strengthen American competitiveness and energy independence. We urge you not to destroy these life- and cost-saving vehicle emission standards on the basis of faulty science and unlawful attacks on the clean air statutes passed by Congress."

In addition to Senators Hirono and Markey, the letter is also signed by Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

The full text of the letter is available here and below.

Dear Administrator Zeldin:

To address the climate crisis, safeguard public health, and protect our economy, we write to urge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Trump administration to reverse course on your ill-advised rollback of federal standards for greenhouse gas emissions from passenger cars and medium and heavy-duty trucks. By proposing to eliminate the 2009 endangerment finding on climate emissions from motor vehicles, the underlying basis for EPA's regulatory ability to address tailpipe climate pollution, EPA is shirking its statutory responsibility to protect human health and the environment, violating the Clean Air Act and Supreme Court precedent, and ignoring the directives of Congress. If the Trump administration persists with eliminating federal vehicle greenhouse gas emissions standards, it will be responsible for damaging the environment, hurting public health, costing drivers money, cutting American jobs and competitiveness, and increasing our dependence on foreign oil.

Robust federal vehicle emission standards are a critical tool for addressing the climate crisis and protecting public health. In the United States, transportation is the leading source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, accounting for 28 percent of total direct emissions. Cars and trucks contribute 80 percent of the emissions within the transportation sector. Dismantling clean vehicle regulations would leave GHG emissions unchecked, which will lead to worsening climate change and increasingly severe extreme weather events. These disasters hurt our communities and exact an astronomical cost in both public and private spending-over the past year alone, disaster-related spending cost the United States nearly $1 trillion.

Transportation-related air pollution hurts public health. Climate change caused by GHG emissions has driven record temperatures across the nation, doubling the number of heat-related deaths in the United States since 1999. Transportation is a major source of particulate matter and other toxic air pollution, severely affecting communities' ability to breathe clean air and causing asthma, cancer, and other chronic illnesses. Studies show that deaths increase on days with both high temperatures and poor air quality, relative to days during which only one factor is present.

Removing clean car and truck safeguards would also increase costs for consumers. Studies show that strong clean vehicle standards have saved drivers more than $9,000 per vehicle in fuel since 2001, and if current policies are kept in place, drivers will save an additional $6,000 in fuel savings per vehicle over the next five years. Without standards, the next generation of American vehicles would become significantly more expensive to fuel, maintain, and repair, no longer saving drivers money at the pump.

The world is transitioning to a zero-emission transportation system, and ignoring that reality puts the future of the American auto industry at risk. In 2024, 69 percent of U.S. vehicle exports went to countries with electric vehicle sales requirements, and 62 percent went to countries planning to ban internal combustion engine vehicles entirely. In 2024, the clean vehicles industry employed more than 410,000 Americans, a figure that includes workers manufacturing parts and components to make vehicles cleaner and more fuel-efficient. The clean vehicle job sector grew faster than the gas- and diesel-powered vehicle industry, adding about 60 percent more jobs between 2021 and 2024. Repealing vehicle emission standards would ruin the momentum and hand the future of the automotive industry to global competitors.

Rolling back standards threatens American energy independence by deepening our reliance on foreign oil. Only 60 percent of the oil in U.S. fuel refineries is extracted in the United States. The remaining 40 percent is imported, making our system linked to volatile global markets. For instance, when Russia invaded Ukraine, gas prices jumped 50 cents a gallon in just one week-a reminder that dependence on oil leaves American drivers at the whims of foreign countries.

Americans should be able to drive and share the road with cleaner, more efficient vehicles that help clean up our air, save families money at the pump, and strengthen American competitiveness and energy independence. We urge you not to destroy these life- and cost-saving vehicle emission standards on the basis of faulty science and unlawful attacks on the clean air statutes passed by Congress.

Sincerely,

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