Earlier this week, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield (R-KY), and committee member Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) pressed EPA administrator Gina McCarthy to provide legal justification for the agency’s proposed regulation outlawing the modification of vehicles to be used for racing. Today, EPA announced that they have dropped their proposed regulations on racing vehicle modifications.
Upton, Whitfield, and Hudson stated, “We are pleased that just days after our letter, EPA slammed the brakes on their gambit to regulate auto racing. EPA had no business using Heavy Duty Truck rules to sideline racecars. Today marks an important victory in our continued efforts to get the EPA back on the right track when it comes to regulating under the Clean Air Act. EPA works best when it protects the environment without causing undue damage to jobs and the economy."
Republicans warn proposed EPA rule could wreck auto racing
Republican lawmakers are warning that regulations proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency could cast a pall over auto racing.
Three members of the House Energy and Commerce committee sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency administrator Gina McCarthy on Tuesday, expressing concern that regulations proposed would prohibit car enthusiasts from making modifications that convert street cars into race cars.
Since passage of the Clean Air Act in 1970, the EPA has not enforced anti-tampering provisions in the law for drivers and mechanics making changes for racing purposes. New language introduced by the administration would end that unofficial exemption. …
Read the full article online HERE.
Republicans say EPA rules would stall racing industry
House Republicans are sounding the alarm over a proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule on carbon dioxide emissions that they fear would cripple the racing industry.
A trio of lawmakers said language tucked into the agency’s rule would ban the conversion of street cars into race cars, which they maintain have typically been exempt from EPA’s regulation of motor vehicles under the Clean Air Act.
The changes could affect hobbyists and the companies that manufacture, distribute and sell racing parts.
“An entire industry has grown around the modification of EPA-certified cars, motorcycles and other vehicles for racing purposes," the three lawmakers wrote a letter Tuesday to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “Now, the legality of this industry has been called into question by the EPA." …
Read the full article online HERE.
April 12, 2016
GOP wants answers about EPA rule that could cripple racing
New environmental regulations on emissions from medium- and heavy-duty trucks could cripple the auto racing industry by banning the conversion of street vehicles into racing vehicles, three top House Republicans warned Tuesday.
In a letter to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., and Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., warned that the regulations could go against congressional intent in the Clean Air Act.
The EPA has long allowed the modification of vehicles for racing, and the lawmakers argued street vehicles modified for racing were always tacitly exempted from the Clean Air Act. The proposed rule on greenhouse gas emissions from medium- and heavy-duty trucks would prohibit the conversion of street vehicles into racing vehicles. …
Read the full story online HERE. Related Items
* Letter to EPA Administrator McCarthy on Agency's Proposed Regulation on Racing Vehicle Modifications
* Committee Leaders Sound Alarm On EPA’s Off Track Attack On Auto Racing
