Cornhusker State News

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, released the following statement after the Senate fell short of overriding President Biden’s veto of her legislation stopping an aggressive Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation. The regulation, which relates to heavy-duty vehicle emissions, is expected to devastate the trucking industry, raise costs for consumers, and incentivize older, less efficient trucks to stay on the road.

“The EPA’s heavy duty vehicle emissions rule is going to drive truckers out of business and raise prices for every American family. Despite bipartisan support in both chambers for my legislation, most of my Democrat colleagues weren’t willing to take a stand today against President Biden’s extreme regulatory agenda. I’ll continue to fight to protect Nebraskans and our economy from the devastating impact of more government overreach,” said Senator Fischer.

Senator Fischer’s legislation had previously passed both Houses of Congress with bipartisan support, by a vote of 50-49 in the Senate and 221-203 in the U.S. House of Representatives. U.S. Representative Troy Nehls (R-Texas-22) led the legislation in the House. President Joe Biden vetoed the legislation on June 14, 2023.

Background:

The EPA finalized its rule on new emissions standards for heavy duty vehicles on December 20, 2022. The rule’s new standards cover nitrogen oxides (NOx) and other air pollutants including particulate matter (PM), hydrocarbons, and carbon monoxide (CO). The rule would also change requirements for emission control systems and emission-related warranties.

The EPA estimated that the technology required to meet the new rule’s standards will cost between $2,568 and $8,304 per vehicle. The American Truck Dealers Association estimates it is more likely a $42,000 increase per truck. In total, the EPA projects the associated costs of this new regulation on the country could reach $55 billion over the lifetime of the program.

The EPA’s regulation would be challenging to implement and make new, compliant trucks cost-prohibitive. By increasing the cost of a new truck, the regulation actually incentivizes keeping older, higher-emitting trucks in service longer. It would also likely force many "mom and pop" commercial trucking operations out of business while encouraging larger trucking operations to pass these higher costs onto consumers.

A one-pager on the legislation can be found here.

A recap of stakeholder support can be found here.

Full text of the legislation can be found here. 

Original source can be found here