Peace Garden News

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today voted to overturn President Biden’s veto and stop the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) costly regulation on heavy-duty vehicles. Hoeven helped introduce a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to end the burdensome regulation on heavy-duty vehicle emissions, which was approved by the Senate in a vote of 50-49 in April. However, President Biden vetoed the bill, and today Senate Democrats upheld his veto.   

“We introduced and passed this CRA with a majority of the Senate to stop the Biden administration from once again imposing costly and burdensome regulations,” said Hoeven. “The EPA’s rule increases costs on our trucking industry, which will only compound supply chain issues and lead to higher costs for U.S. consumers.  By upholding the President’s veto, Senate Democrats have put this misguided regulation over supporting our truckers and the consumers that rely on them.”

The EPA’s new emission standards for heavy duty vehicles cover nitrogen oxides (NOx), as well as hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide (CO), and changes requirements regarding emission control systems and emission-related warranties. The EPA estimates that 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 percent and 99 percent compared to models from the late 1990s.

            The EPA finalized its rule on new emissions standards for heavy duty vehicles on December 20, 2022, with the rule going into effect on March 27. In addition to helping introduce the CRA, Hoeven also pressed the EPA to abandon the rule, which would make new compliant trucks cost-prohibitive for small business owners.

Original source can be found here.