Real bill currently in Congress c/o SJRES/119/207
A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to "California State Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Standards; Notice of Decision Granting a Waiver of Clean Air Act Preemption for California's Advanced Clean Car Program and a Within the Scope Conformation for California's Zero Emission Vehicle Amendments for 2017 and Earlier Model Years".
Latest action (2026-08-05): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
The Framers
“Founders’ Verdict”
Confidence 0.75
Synthesis
The joint resolution is constitutional only if it is applied prospectively, respects the federalism balance inherent in the Clean Air Act's cooperative scheme, and does not violate the Presentment Clause or retroactively impair vested rights. The resolution must also avoid creating a dominant faction among states or undermining equal state sovereignty.
The joint resolution invokes the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to disapprove an EPA waiver granted to California under the Clean Air Act. The Constitution grants Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3) and to make all laws necessary and proper for executing its powers (Article I, Section 8, Clause 18). However, the CRA's mechanism for congressional disapproval of agency rules must be examined for consistency with the separation of powers. The resolution is constitutional if it does not violate the Presentment Clause (Article I, Section 7, Clause 2) …
This joint resolution seeks to disapprove a waiver granted by the Environmental Protection Agency to California under the Clean Air Act. The Constitution grants Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce, but the Tenth Amendment reserves to the states all powers not delegated to the United States. California's regulation of motor vehicle emissions within its own borders is a police power reserved to the states, and the Clean Air Act's waiver provision properly respects this state authority. Congress may not use its commerce power to strip a state of its reserved powers without clear co…
The joint resolution seeks to disapprove an EPA waiver granted to California under the Clean Air Act. The Constitution grants Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3), and the Clean Air Act is an exercise of that power. However, the waiver of preemption for California's motor vehicle standards raises concerns under the principle of equal state sovereignty and the potential for factional control by a single state over national policy. In Federalist No. 10, I warned against the mischief of faction, where a majority or minority may sacrifice the public g…
The joint resolution under consideration is a legislative act designed to disapprove a rule issued by the Environmental Protection Agency. This power derives from the Constitution's vesting of all legislative powers in Congress (Article I, Section 1). The Clean Air Act, grounded in the Commerce Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3), allows the EPA to grant waivers to California, but Congress retains the authority to amend or supersede such statutory delegations. The Congressional Review Act provides a mechanism for Congress to exercise its legislative power through a joint resolution, which …
What should pass
“AI Consensus Solution”
National Vehicle Emission Standards Harmonization Act
To overturn the EPA's waiver allowing California to set its own stricter vehicle emission standards, aiming to prevent regulatory fragmentation and the economic burden of multiple state standards on automobile manufacturers and interstate commerce.
Bipartisan rationale: Honors Democratic priorities by establishing a stringent national emission standard that is at least as protective as California's, preserving environmental gains and reducing regulatory complexity for manufacturers. Honors Republican priorities by eliminating state-level regulatory patchwork, creating a single national standard that reduces compliance costs and avoids a fragmented market, while also providing for a cost-benefit analysis and sunset to ensure accountability.
Vote-count path: ~265 House votes: 180 moderate Democrats + 85 Republicans favoring national uniformity; ~68 Senate votes: 50 Democrats + 18 Republicans from auto-industry and federalism caucuses.