March 29, 2021—California's two Senators have written to President Biden to call for an end date on the national sale of new gas-powered cars, reports CNN Business.
The letter sent by Sen. Diane Feinstein and Sen. Alex Padilla urged the Biden administration to "follow California's lead and set a date by which all new cars and passenger trucks sold be zero-emission vehicles."
An executive order was signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom last September to require that all new passenger cars and trucks sold in the state be zero-emission vehicles by 2035.
"The automobile industry has shown it has the ingenuity and resources to reimagine our transportation systems in consumer-friendly ways," the senators wrote in their letter to Biden. "We urge your administration to take advantage of this effort and make real progress in coordination with states, like California, that share your goals to aggressively fight climate change by eliminating harmful pollution from the transportation sector."
The senators said that "at an absolute minimum" the new federal regulations should follow the agreement between California and those automakers. They are also seeking to once again grant California the right to set tougher emissions rules than set by the EPA.
