Jay Obernolte: “I thank the gentleman and my friend for yielding. I rise as the proud sponsor of this bill, H.J. Res. 89, but also as a…”

“I thank the gentleman and my friend for yielding. I rise as the proud sponsor of this bill, H.J. Res. 89, but also as a proud Californian. This bill would overturn the EPA's waiver granting California the ability to decide for all Californians what cars they drive and what trucks they use to deliver their goods. This waiver was granted in the waning moments of the Biden administration, and I believe it was shortsighted and misguided. To be clear, I am not an opponent of electric vehicles, and I consider myself an environmentalist, but I feel strongly that my constituents ought to have the ability to buy for themselves the vehicle that will best meet their needs. For some of them, that is an electric vehicle. For some of my delivery companies, that is an electric truck; but for some, it is not. I believe our country was founded on the principles of freedom and liberty, and that means we are empowered to choose for ourselves about those decisions and not have our government make those decisions for us. Make no mistake, it is entirely appropriate that we are taking this action here today. Article I of the U.S. Constitution gives this body, the United States Congress, the ability to regulate interstate commerce. As everyone knows, these vehicles, cars and trucks, are not just manufactured for one State, the State of California, they are manufactured for a worldwide audience. It is very much interstate commerce that is at stake here.…”