FILE PHOTO: Commuters navigate early morning traffic as they drive towards downtown in Los Angeles, California, U.S., July 22, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Blake/ File Photo

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 100 Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday urged the Trump administration to abandon plans to repeal vehicle emission rules.

In a letter seen by Reuters, 102 lawmakers led by Representative Doris Matsui called on the Environmental Protection Agency to drop its aim to repeal all greenhouse gas emission standards for light-duty, medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles and engines.

"Repealing the vehicle pollution standards would hamstring this growing industry, killing thousands of good-paying American jobs and ceding the future of global automotive leadership to China," the lawmakers wrote in a letter seen by Reuters.

In July, the EPA said it will rescind the long-standing finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health, removing the legal foundation for all U.S. greenhouse gas regulations, a move that would end current limits on greenhouse gas pollution from vehicle tailpipes, power plants, smokestacks and other sources.

The EPA said it will review the letter and respond through the appropriate channels. Comments on its proposal are due by September 22.

"If we turn our backs on clean vehicle technologies, the next generation of American vehicles will be significantly more expensive to fuel, maintain, and repair," according to the letter, which was also signed by Representatives Rick Larsen, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Jerrold Nadler. The letter said EPA’s analysis "suggests the proposal to eliminate vehicle pollution standards would result in $1.3 trillion in lost fuel and maintenance savings."

The Trump administration has taken aim at vehicle environmental rules on a number of fronts. In June, Trump signed a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act to bar California's landmark plan to end the sale of gasoline-only vehicles by 2035 and two other vehicle rules.

In June, NHTSA paved the way for looser U.S. fuel economy standards by declaring that former President Joe Biden's administration exceeded its authority by assuming high uptake of electric vehicles in calculating rules.

Trump also signed legislation eliminating penalties for automakers not meeting U.S. fuel economy standards dating back to 2022.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Lisa Shumaker, Franklin Paul and Aurora Ellis)