Statement on Inappropriate Use of Congressional Review Act on Clean Air Act Waivers

(May 22, 2025, Boston, MA) The Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM) condemns Congress’ misguided action to block state programs that protect public health from air pollution.

Waivers of preemption granted to California by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pursuant the Clean Air Act are not, and never have been, subject to the Congressional Review Act. The EPA’s waivers approving California’s clean vehicle programs are not rules as defined by the Congressional Review Act. Since its enactment in 1996, Congress, until now, has never applied the Congressional Review Act to EPA waivers for California’s clean vehicle programs. Legal opinions by the U.S. Government Accountability Office and the Senate Parliamentarian also clearly state that the Congressional Review Act does not apply to the type of EPA action (a “waiver of preemption”) that Congress now inappropriately seeks to undo.

States’ rights and responsibilities to protect public health and the environment from the impacts of air pollution are a basic tenet of cooperative federalism embodied in the Clean Air Act. The states and the nation benefit greatly from the reductions in motor vehicle pollution that the California clean car and truck programs provide, and their corresponding public health and economic benefits. These programs have fostered our nation’s clean air progress and vehicle technology innovation for decades. The unprecedented action by Congress now attempts to prevent states from implementing these successful programs.

Under the Clean Air Act, states have long had the choice to adopt California’s more protective clean vehicle programs in lieu of weaker federal standards. By going beyond the bounds of the Congressional Review Act, Congress is undermining the rights of states to protect the health of their citizens. The long-term harms will be significant.

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NESCAUM is the regional non-profit association of state air pollution control agencies in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. NESCAUM serves as a technical and policy advisor to its member agencies on a wide range of air pollution and climate issues and facilitates multi-state initiatives to improve air quality and mitigate climate change. For more than three decades, NESCAUM and its members have closely collaborated with California and other states, the EPA, and the automobile industry to promote low- and zero-emission vehicles.

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