Following the lead of their home state, two senators from California are pressing U.S. President joe Biden to set an end date for the sale of gas-powered cars.
Democratic Senators Alex Padilla and Dianne Feinstein sent a letter to Biden on Monday, saying the federal government needs to “set a date by which all new cars and passenger trucks sold be zero-emission vehicles.”
“We believe the national baseline should, at an absolute minimum, be built around the technical lead set by companies that voluntarily advanced their agreements with California. California and other states need a strong federal partner,” said Padilla in the letter seen by Reuters.
During his presidential campaign, Biden committed to boost EV sales and charging infrastructure, but rejected calls to set a specific dates to phase out internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle sales.
In September 2020 California Governor Gavin Newsom introduced an executive order that required all new car and passenger truck sales to be zero-emission by 2035.
