Barrasso Votes to Overturn Nationwide Electric Vehicle Mandate

Senator John Barrasso today issued the following statement after he voted with all Senate Republicans to overturn a series of California rules that would have established a nationwide electric vehicle mandate.

“Washington bureaucrats will not dictate the vehicles we can drive in Wyoming or across America. Republicans rejected the Democrats’ delusional dream of banning gas-powered vehicles forever. We rejected their effort to force-feed electric vehicles to every single American. The electric vehicle mandate was a pillar of the Democrats’ Green New Deal. Today, Republicans toppled that pillar. The American people are back in the driver’s seat, exactly where they belong.”

On May 6, Senator Barrasso argued the case for the Senate utilizing the Congressional Review Act to overturn the California rules in the Wall Street Journal. Two days later, the senator spoke on the Senate Floor about how economically damaging California's electric vehicle mandates would be for America.

“California’s mandates have already taken root in a dozen states. They affect 40% of all new light-duty vehicle registrations and a quarter of new heavy-duty vehicle registrations nationwide. They clearly affect the kind of vehicles which will be manufactured and sold in America. They affect the costs and availability of gas-powered cars and trucks across the country, even in states that do not adopt the mandates.”

On May 21, Senator Barrasso spoke again on the Senate Floor about the importance of using the Congressional Review Act to block the California rules.

This week, the Senate must decide. "Do we uphold ours rights under the Congressional Review Act? Or do we give GAO a veto over the Congressional Review Act now and forever? Our decision will shape the future of the Congressional Review Act," said Barrasso.

“Americans have spoken. They rejected EV mandates in November. The House acted. It’s now up to the Senate to stop the EV mandates from taking hold.”

Background

On March 20, 2024, President Biden authorized one of the biggest government mandates on electric vehicles the country had ever seen.

Under the Biden rule, 67% of new light-duty vehicles and 46% of medium-duty vehicles would be required to be electric by 2032.

The rule would progressively make it more difficult for gas-powered cars to keep up with EPA standards, meaning they would need more advanced technology that would in turn drive up prices. At the same time, EV production would increase, theoretically driving their cost down over time, but not all financial analysts agreed on that predicted outcome.

The Biden administration said the rule could result in just 29 percent of the new car market remaining gas-powered in 2032.

In the administration’s lowest-cost scenario, it estimated by that year, 56 percent of vehicles would be battery electric, 13 percent would be plug-in hybrids and 3 percent would be other hybrids.