Congress is using the Congressional Review Act to block a regulation issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on January 17, 2025, that set safety standards for hydrogen-powered vehicles — specifically covering fuel system integrity and compressed hydrogen storage. If this joint resolution becomes law, the regulation would have no force or effect, and the agency would be restricted from issuing a substantially similar rule without new congressional authorization.
Corporate Benefits
- NHTSA compliance burden for hydrogen-vehicle manufacturers — Final rule on fuel-system integrity disapproved under CRA
Average Household Impact
- Federal hydrogen-vehicle safety floor — NHTSA rule on fuel-system integrity and compressed-storage standards nullified
Transparency & Accountability
- Future NHTSA rulemaking authority on this topic — Agency restricted from substantially similar rule without new congressional authorization
Congressional Summary
This joint resolution nullifies the final rule issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration titled Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Fuel System Integrity of Hydrogen Vehicles; Compressed Hydrogen Storage System Integrity; Incorporation by Reference and published on January 17, 2025.This final rule establishes two new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) specifying performance requirements for all motor vehicles that use hydrogen as a fuel source.FMVSS No. 307 sets requirements for the fuel system in hydrogen vehicles during normal vehicle operations and after crashes, as well as performance requirements for the hydrogen fuel system.FMVSS No. 308 regulates the compressed hydrogen storage system (CHSS) and includes performance requirements intended to ensure the CHSS is unlikely to leak or burst during use. It also specifies performance requirements for different CHSS closure devices (i.e., the check valves, shut-off valves, and thermally activated pressure relief devices that control the flow of hydrogen into or out of a CHSS).The final rule is based on Global Technical Regulation (GTR) No. 13, Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Vehicles. As background, the United States is a contracting party to a 1998 agreement that is administered by the UN Economic Commission for Europe's World Forum for the Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations and concerns the establishment of GTRs.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in Senate
- Action Date
- 2025-05-19
- Date Added
- 2026-03-30
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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