California has become unaffordable — but Congress can do something about it

Under Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s policies, California continues to be one of the most expensive places to live and do business. We pay some of the nation’s highest prices for gas and electricity. California families pay nearly $2 more per gallon than the national average for gas and more than $8 per gallon for diesel.

Housing is unaffordable. Taxes are out of control. And the goods families depend on keep getting more expensive.

Instead of addressing this affordability crisis, Sacramento is making it worse.

The California Air Resources Board is an unelected state agency that has imposed two mandates most working Californians have probably never heard of. These mandates are raising the cost of everything, from gas to groceries. In essence, they function as a hidden climate tax that gets passed directly to consumers.

They are the “Vessels At-Berth” rule and the “Commercial Harbor Craft” rule. Most don’t know they exist, but every hardworking family feels the impacts at the gas pump or the supermarket.

The Vessels At-Berth regulation requires ships in California ports to shut off their engines and use California Air Resources Board-approved emission-control technology. The problem: the technology is costly and even if ships want to comply, the technology doesn’t exist at the scale needed. The result is fines of around $50,000 per vessel per day , which ultimately gets passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices at checkout.

Similarly, the Commercial Harbor Craft regulation forces operators to install expensive new equipment on vessels like fishing boats. Shipping companies then pass those expenses through the supply chain.

With these two mandates, working families end up paying a tax they never voted for and will never see listed on a receipt.

California Air Resources Board’s own analysis pegs the cost of its At-Berth mandate at $2.3 billion , and its Commercial Harbor Craft rule would pile on more than $2.5 billion , costs that land on maritime operators and, ultimately, consumers.

While Sacramento keeps making life more costly and more unaffordable, we are fighting to cut costs for Californians.

That is why we introduced two joint resolutions . Thanks to the leadership of House Republicans, both resolutions passed the House of Representatives.

Our legislation would overturn these mandates and provide relief to working Californians. They are about commonsense and affordability. The stakes are significant.

These mandates hit the vessels that keep California’s ports and economy operating. We should be helping them save costs and run efficiently, not crushing them with hidden climate taxes.

California’s ports are critical to the Central Valley and Northern California. Removing measures that limit the movement of goods through our ports will support local businesses, keep our supply chains moving, and ultimately bring down costs across the board.

The truth is simple. We all depend on California’s ports . Nearly 40 percent of all containerized cargo entering the nation passes through them. When Sacramento makes shipping more expensive, families in California and across the country pay the price.

Clean air and affordable living should not be competing goals. Californians deserve both.

The House has acted. Now the Senate must pass these resolutions and send them to the president’s desk.

We will keep fighting to stop Sacramento’s hidden climate taxes from taking more hard-earned money from working families.

Vince Fong represents California’s 20th Congressional District and James Gallagher represents California’s 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.