WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two Environmental Protection Agency officials declined to appear at a hearing Wednesday before a U.S. House panel on the Biden administration's proposal to cut vehicle emissions and ramp up electric vehicle sales, the agency said on Tuesday.

A House Oversight subcommittee had invited Office of Transportation and Air Quality director Sarah Dunham and Office of Air and Radiation official Joseph Goffman to appear at the hearing titled: "Driving Bad Policy: Examining EPA’s Tailpipe Emissions Rules and the Realities of a Rapid Electric Vehicle Transition."

EPA said "the requested witnesses had previously scheduled meetings with members of Congress and representatives of the regulated community on the hearing’s date, and because the proposed rules identified as the subjects of the hearing are currently open for public comment."

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese)