Two California congressmen dirty the air by disqualifying state’s pollution rules | Opinion
Congressional Republicans Vince Fong and David Valadao represent San Joaquin Valley districts with some of the worst air quality in the nation.
Yet both of them voted with their GOP colleagues recently to undo California-specific rules meant to clear the skies of ozone and fine particles that can penetrate deep into lungs — key constituents of air pollution.
Their actions came in House joint resolutions. One of them, HJR 88, disallowed California from banning the sale of new gas-powered vehicles starting in 2035.
Fong represents the 20th congressional district, which runs from Bakersfield to Clovis. Valadao’s 22nd District covers Kings County and parts of Kern and Tulare counties.
Under Gov. Gavin Newsom, California has adopted measures meant to move motorists from gas-powered vehicles into electric ones that do not give off tailpipe emissions.
Cars and trucks that run on carbon fuels like gas and diesel emit substances that form ozone in the air. The pollutant can burn lungs when inhaled in enough concentration.
Fine particles, known as PM 2.5, come from dust and other natural sources. Particles get concentrated in the Valley due to the region’s farming activities that kick up the soil.
In the 2025 State of the Air report from the American Lung Association, the Bakersfield-Delano region was ranked No. 1 in the nation for both short-term and year-round particle pollution. It was No. 3 in the nation for bad ozone.
The Fresno-Hanford-Corcoran region, which covers much of Valadao’s district, was fifth-worst for ozone, third-worst for year-round particle pollution and fifth-worst for short-term particle pollution.
Besides the new-car rule, the two other measures California had adopted dealt with cleaning up emissions from big-rig trucks, of which there are many in the San Joaquin Valley. One measure passed by the state required trucking firms to switch from diesel to electric rigs.
Given the poor marks in the Lung Association’s annual report, why did Fong and Valadao vote against rules meant to improve air quality?
Fong, Valadao explain votes
In Fong’s case, he picked other state’s needs over his own.
“These out of touch mandates abused by California should not be imposed on the entire country when it’s contrary to common sense and what the public wanted,” he said in a news release.
Fact check: The California rule on phasing out gas-powered vehicles applies just to California. It only becomes a national phenomenon because auto manufacturers tailor their products off California laws. Contrary to Fong’s misstatement, no one in Sacramento forces car makers to apply California rules nationally.
That said, why should Fong care about what people living in Iowa need?
“What the public wanted” is also misleading. If legislators like Fong were not beholden to the oil and gas industry, and instead actually promoted EVs, more consumers might be willing to give them a try. The initial cost of an EV is a challenge, though prices have dropped in recent years. But because EVs have fewer moving parts than gas vehicles, there is much less maintenance, thus saving consumers time and money.
The oil industry is a big part of Kern County, the heart of Fong’s district. So his opposition to EVs — and promotion of things that use oil and gas — is both logical and unfortunate, given climate impacts.
Valadao based his opposition on how California’s rules would have required trucking firms to buy more expensive electric big rigs. That cost would have been passed onto farmers shipping their goods to market. “While I support reductions in emissions, these rules would severely impact our state’s economy and agricultural supply chains, which would drive up consumer costs,” he said in a Facebook post explaining his vote.
Valadao issued a news release Tuesday announcing he was joining a Michigan congresswoman to introduce a resolution declaring May as “National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month.” The irony, of course, is that air pollution is a key cause of asthma. In Kings County, Valadao’s home, more than 21% of residents have been diagnosed at least once with asthma.
Politics over health
Whether the House votes on California’s air rules will stand is up for debate. The Senate parliamentarian and the U.S. General Accountability Office both determined that California’s actions do not fall under review by Congress.
But, for now, Fong and Valadao voted to follow the direction of their GOP House leaders, and not what is best for their constituents’ health.
