WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) joined Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) and 32 of their Senate colleagues in introducing legislation to overturn an onerous Biden Administration regulation on heavy-duty vehicle emissions. This latest rule by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would be challenging to implement and expensive for small business owners.  

“Once again, Joe Biden’s administration is proving they don’t care who gets hurt in their quest for so-called ‘climate justice.’ We’ve already made significant progress over the past few decades in reducing heavy vehicle emission, but the administration insists on imposing additional rules to achieve unrealistic reductions at a massive cost to small business owners. This overreaching, inflexible rule is costly and impractical. Our bill protects hardworking truck drivers, manufacturers, and dealers, including those in North Dakota, by rejecting these burdensome regulations,” said Senator Cramer.

“The Biden Administration is saddling the trucking industry with an onerous regulation that would jack up vehicle costs and hurt good paying jobs. This aggressive EPA rule – which will hit mom and pop truck operations the hardest – is also ineffective because it incentivizes operators to keep using older, higher-emitting trucks for longer. During a period of high inflation and supply chain disruptions, the last thing this country needs is more expensive freight costs and fewer truckers. I am proud to be leading a large coalition of my colleagues to push back against the Biden Administration’s obsession with excessive climate regulations,” said Senator Fischer.

Click here for text of the resolution.

Senators Cramer and Fischer are joined by Senators Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Jim Risch (R-ID), John Barrasso (R-WY), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ted Budd (R-NC), Jerry Moran (R-KS), John Thune (R-SD), Roger Wicker (R-MD), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Mike Braun (R-IN), Rick Scott (R-FL), John Kennedy (R-LA), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Todd Young (R-IN), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Katie Britt (R-AL), James Lankford (R-OK), John Hoeven (R-ND), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Steve Daines (R-MT), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Rand Paul (R-KY), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Josh Hawley (R-MO).

Background:

  • The EPA finalized this rule on emission standards for heavy duty vehicles on December 20, 2022; it is slated to take effect on March 27, 2023.
  • New standards would cover nitrogen oxides (NOx) and other air pollutants including particulate matter (PM), hydrocarbons, and carbon monoxide (CO).
  • The rule would change requirements related to emission control systems and emission-related warranties.
  • The EPA estimates the technology required to meet the new rule’s standards will cost between $2,568 and $8,304 per vehicle. Existing regulations on trucks have already resulted in a decrease in NOx emissions between 98% and 99% compared to models from the late 1990s.