PASSED BY THE HOUSE: Rep. Obernolte’s Amendment to Prevent the EPA from Approving California’s Electric Freight Train Rule

WASHINGTON – U.S. Congressman Jay Obernolte’s (CA-23) amendment #75 passed the U.S. House of Representatives by voice vote and was included in the Fiscal Year 2025 Appropriations bill for the Departments of the Interior and the Environment. Rep. Obernolte’s amendment would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from issuing a waiver to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for its In-Use Locomotive Regulation. The regulation mandates the use of zero-emission locomotives in California despite the fact that the zero-emission locomotives required to comply with the rule do not even exist. Rep. Obernolte’s amendment prohibits any EPA funds from being used to grant the waiver required for CARB’s job-killing electric locomotive rule.

“Freight rail is crucial to the nation's economy, environment, and infrastructure. It efficiently transports goods over long distances, reduces highway congestion, and greatly lowers greenhouse gas emissions compared to truck transportation,” said Rep. Obernolte. “While I share the broader goal of reducing emissions, CARB’s misguided rule would not accomplish it. Instead, it would have a disastrous impact on interstate commerce, increasing the cost of rail transport, reducing jobs, and raising prices for Californians. This amendment is a win for our High Desert community and will help create jobs at BNSF’s Barstow International Gateway.”

Image

(To watch Rep. Obernolte speak in support of his amendment, click the graphic above or here.)

This amendment builds off previous action Rep. Obernolte has taken in opposition to CARB’s job-destroying rule: 

• In May, Rep. Obernolte led 73 of his colleagues in a letter in opposition to the EPA granting a waiver to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for its zero-emission locomotive rule.  
• Rep. Obernolte, in June, held a hearing on the feasibility of the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) rule requiring zero-emission locomotives.
• Rep. Obernolte also delivered nearly 2,000 letters from agencies, organizations and his constituents in California’s 23rd Congressional District to EPA Administrator Michael Regan expressing their concerns that the waiver would have on the economy and national supply chains, and he encouragedthe Administrator to deny the California waiver.