Senate Parliamentarian Reaffirms California’s Clean Air Act Waivers Are Ineligible for Congressional Review Act Repeal
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate parliamentarian today reaffirmed that California’s Clean Air Act waivers are ineligible for repeal using the Congressional Review Act’s (CRA) expedited process. The nonpartisan congressional arbiter in disputes over the meaning of the CRA, the Government Accountability Office, already twice determined that California’s waiver is not a “rule,” and is thus ineligible for CRA repeal. Earlier this week, 80 groups led by the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards (co-chaired by Public Citizen) urged Congress to reject this lawless use of the CRA. Will Anderson, a climate policy advocate for Public Citizen, released the following statement:
“It’s a hopeful sign that the Senate parliamentarian has upheld decades of precedent and reaffirmed that the Clean Air Act’s waivers for California are not subject to the CRA. Abusing the CRA to target policies far outside its reach would be a calamity both within and well beyond the scope of environmental protections. If Senate Republicans vote to bypass the parliamentarian’s ruling, it would not only violate long held precedent but open a Pandora’s Box of reckless attacks on vital safeguards for Americans in nearly every aspect of our lives.”