WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Joni Ernst (R-IA), and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urging it to not place overly burdensome emissions regulations on commercial motor vehicles.
In March 2022, the EPA proposed a rule that provides two options for reducing tailpipe nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from commercial motor vehicles. Option 1 drastically aims to reduce 90 percent of NOx emissions by 2031, which will be costly to the trucking industry and risk thousands of good-paying jobs. Option 2 aims at a 75 percent reduction in NOx emissions by 2027 and later, which is far less burdensome on truckers.
The senators’ letter urges the EPA to move forward with Option 2, providing flexibility for Iowans to adequately plan for the costs associated with the ruling. If the EPA chooses to move forward with Option 1, the ruling will increase costs for equipment—disincentivizing Iowans from entering the trucking industry and harming the already strained supply chain.
“We urge you to finalize a rule that is technologically achievable, acceptable, and affordable to American customers who haul freight and work from these trucks…Estimates show that Option 1 would raise the price of heavy-duty diesel trucks by an average of $42,000, as well as increase operating costs and likely cause a ‘pre-buy, no-buy’ scenario that would harm the market,” wrote the senators.
Joining Senators Cramer, Ernst, and Grassley are Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Boozman (R-AR), Mike Braun (R-ID), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Steve Daines (R-MT), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), John Hoeven (R-ND), James Lankford (R-OK), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Jim Risch (R-ID), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Todd Young (R-ID).
Click here to read the letter.
