Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today released the following statement on testimony given by Gov. Jerry Brown before the House Oversight Committee:

            “Jerry Brown today called the Trump administration’s attempts to roll back environmental rules a ‘flat earth approach.’ I would add that these actions are irresponsible and reckless. But whatever you call it, it’s bad for California and bad for the country.

            “Governor Brown reminded us that it was two Republicans who took bold steps to protect the environment: California Governor Ronald Reagan created the California Air Resources Board in 1967 and President Richard Nixon granted California the authority to set its own stringent air quality rules in 1970.

            “Because of California’s influence on clean cars, consumers are already saving $65 billion at the gas pump. Revoking California’s waiver could result in up to 2.9 billion additional barrels of gasoline consumed by drivers. Simply put, there’s no reason for the administration to take away California’s authority to set its own emissions standards.

            “The recent agreement between California and four top automakers would reduce emissions by as much as 266 million metric tons by 2035. That’s why in August I called on other automakers to join the agreement. If other automakers joined the effort, cumulative emissions reductions would jump significantly.

            “If the Trump administration isn’t willing to help, it needs to get out of the way of the states and companies that do want to fight climate change. If we continue to wait, solutions will be more expensive, take longer and be harder to achieve.”