Congress strips EPA power to phase out gas-guzzlers via emissions rules
S. 995 — Choice in Automobile Retail Sales Act of 2025 · Filed by Mike Crapo (R-ID) · 25 cosponsors · Introduced Mar 12, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill repeals the EPA's 2024 multi-pollutant emissions rule for 2027+ light-duty and medium-duty vehicles, and amends the Clean Air Act to prohibit tailpipe regulations from mandating specific engine technologies or reducing the availability of new vehicles based on engine type. The net effect is to block EPA authority to phase out or restrict internal combustion engines through emissions standards, preserving the market for gas-powered cars regardless of climate or air-quality targets.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is to strip EPA authority to regulate tailpipe emissions in ways that would restrict internal combustion engine sales. While framed as 'choice' and 'availability,' the functional effect is to prevent the agency from using its statutory Clean Air Act authority to reduce vehicle emissions, a core deregulatory move.
What the text implies
- The 24-month revision deadline forces EPA to rewrite existing regulations to comply with the new prohibition, effectively invalidating rules already in force and creating legal uncertainty for automakers and regulators.
- The phrase 'including any regulation prescribed after January 1, 2021' retroactively constrains EPA rules already issued, potentially reopening settled regulatory questions.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
automotive manufacturers (especially those with large internal combustion engine portfolios); oil and gas industry (reduced pressure to transition vehicle fleet away from fossil fuels)