“California’s EV mandates are expensive, expansive, and economically-destructive. This is not just a California problem. It is a nationwide assault on gas-powered cars in America.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Senate Majority Whip, today spoke on the Senate Floor in support of the Senate’s actions this week to block the California Electric Vehicle mandates. Senator Barrasso also dispelled Democrats’ scare tactics over Senate procedure.

Click HERE to watch Senator Barrasso’s remarks.

Sen. Barrasso’s remarks as prepared:

“In its final days in office, the Biden administration gave California permission to export its far-left electric vehicle mandate to the entire country. This week, the Senate will end California’s mandate madness.

“I listened to some of the Democrats’ arguments on the floor yesterday. There was a lot of huffing and puffing about the sanctity of the Government Accountability Office and about the filibuster – which all of the Democrats have promised to eliminate. There were wild accusations that the sky was falling on the United States Senate.  

“What nobody who tuned in heard is what these California rules would actually do. Why not, Mr. President? Isn’t that why Democrats are so panicked? Isn’t that why Democrats and Joe Biden waited until after the election to spring it on the American people? Isn’t that why they spent months coordinating its release with allies at the GAO? To try to avoid Senate scrutiny under the Congressional Review Act? Why are Democrats so desperate to talk about anything, everything except what the rule actually means to Americans?

“Here’s why.

“California’s EV mandates ban the sale of gas-powered cars and trucks. They threaten the freedom of every American to choose what they drive. EVs currently make up 7 percent of the U.S. market. Even in California, they account for only 20 percent of vehicle sales. And sales are stalling. Yet California’s radical mandates require 35 percent of all vehicle sales to be electric by 2026 – 6 months from now. By 2035, it jumps to 100 percent.

“This is a whole new meaning of the word fantasyland. America cannot meet these impossible standards – not next year, and not in ten years.

“For carmakers, the consequences are severe. If you don’t sell enough electric vehicles – even when Americans don’t want to buy them – too bad. California will fine you $20,000 per vehicle. There are ways to avoid this fine. One way is limiting the sales of gas-powered vehicles. That isn’t progress – it’s rationing.

“The harms of this mandate extend beyond carmakers. The Democrat mandates would cost the economy $100 billion annually. The Democrat mandates would impact 330,000 jobs. The Democrat mandates would punish hardworking families with pricier vehicles. The Democrat mandates would bury small businesses under crushing compliance costs.

“In my home state of Wyoming and rural states like ours, farmers and ranchers would suffer both from EV’s limited reliability and their limited range. Every American would lose options – whether you live in California or not. California’s EV mandates are expensive, expansive, and economically destructive.

“This is not just a California problem. It is a nationwide assault on gas-powered cars in America. The California mandates cover nearly 40 percent of all new cars in America. They span 11 states – including big population states such as New York and New Jersey – plus Washington, D.C. All signed onto California’s radical attempt to set a new national standard.

“California’s own Senators brag about this overreach. The Junior Senator from California says he’s ‘very proud’ his state’s liberal agenda can control the country. Democrats have a delusional dream to eliminate gas-powered vehicles. The rest of us live in the real world. In the real world, gas-powered vehicles keep our farms running, our businesses thriving, and our economy moving.

“The Congressional Review Act provides the Senate a swift, permanent solution. With a simple majority, Congress can kill these rules and ban similar ones forever. This fight goes beyond party lines. It is not about Republican or Democrat. It’s about common sense versus control.

“The House of Representatives voted to end these punishing California mandates. 35 Democrats – including some from California – joined all Republicans in voting to end the mandates. A New York Democrat called the mandates ‘out of touch with reality.’ Even the Junior Senator from Michigan, a Democrat, campaigned in 2024 against EV mandates. She told voters, ‘Drive what you want.’

“Yet Senate Democrats now want to force-feed electric vehicles to everyone in America. Democrats claim the Congressional Review Act does not apply. Their last-minute objections are flawed. They cite a non-binding ‘observation’ from the Government Accountability Office. An ‘observation’ that said – for the first time in history – an agency-submitted rule was not a rule. This argument collapses under scrutiny.

“The Environmental Protection Agency submitted these rules as rules to Congress this year after being released by the Biden administration in its last days in office. That is a fact. No one disputes it – not even Senate Democrats.

“Under the Congressional Review Act, that makes them subject to review. Period. End of story. The GAO has no veto power over the Senate. Not from the Congressional Review Act. Not under the Senate Rules. Not under Senate precedent.

“More troubling, the GAO’s actions suggest bias. Left-wing bureaucrats in the GAO rushed a response in only 13 days to prop up the mandates. They colluded with Senate Democrats to do so. When Republicans challenged the GAO’s observation, Senate Democrats turned to scare tactics about the filibuster. That is ironic. Every Senate Democrat has either voted for or campaigned on eliminating the filibuster.

“The Senate’s vote on the California mandates is not about Senate rules. It is about Democrats’ delusional dream to eliminate gas-powered vehicles forever. It’s a smokescreen to save a pillar of their Green New Deal.

“Congress created a fast-track procedure in 1996 when it passed the Congressional Review Act. 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.

“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.

“I want to thank my colleagues who led this effort. Chairwoman Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia. Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska. Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma. Together, we will reject the far-left cheerleading for more regulation and protect consumer choice, affordability, and congressional authority.

“It’s time to end California’s mandate madness.”

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