A coalition of more than 150 House and Senate Republicans are calling on the Biden administration to withdraw a slate of environmental regulations targeting heavy-duty trucks, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.
The lawmakers—led by Rep. Randy Feenstra (R., Iowa) and Sen. Mike Crapo (R., Idaho)—will send a letter, first reviewed by the Free Beacon, to Environmental Protection Agency administrator Michael Regan later Tuesday, highlighting the potential severe impacts the regulations will have on the nation's economy, electrical grid, and agriculture industry.
The effort from Feenstra, Crapo, and their 150 fellow GOP lawmakers comes three months after EPA finalized the rulemaking, which officials said includes the strongest-ever greenhouse gas emissions standards of their kind. The regulations mandate substantial emissions reductions from the heavy-duty trucking sector beginning in 2026 for model year 2027 vehicles.
It represents the latest effort from Republicans pushing back on the Biden administration's broader efforts to electrify the U.S. transportation sector. Democrats and environmental activists have for years set their sights on transportation, pointing to its large carbon footprint: The sector is responsible for nearly 30 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
"The Biden administration’s mandate that impacts all trucks, tractors, buses, and semis would strain our supply chains, hurt our farmers, harm our economy, and increase costs for every single American," Feenstra said in a statement.
"On top of inflation, poor economic conditions, and other regulations, this de facto EV mandate on our truckers, manufacturers, farmers, and dealers will hike the cost of groceries, utility bills, and everyday goods that American families rely on," he continued. "It’s also a deliberate attack on liquid fuels—including homegrown Iowa biofuels—that are vital to our energy, economy, and national security."
Crapo added that "heavy-handed, top-down environmental policies do more harm than good."
Overall, the EPA's regulations apply to short-haul and long-haul tractor-trailer trucks, in addition to vocational trucks like delivery vehicles, garbage trucks, school and public transit buses, concrete trucks and fire trucks. The agency has projected that, as a result of the rulemaking, by 2032, up to 50 percent of new vocational trucks and 25 percent of new long-haul tractor-trailers will be electric.
The finalized rules, however, have faced an onslaught of criticism from Republicans and industry associations representing truck companies, manufacturers, bus makers, and independent truck drivers. They have argued the regulations are unreasonable and could present major challenges to the electrical grid and national security.
Less than 1 percent of new truck sales in the United States are zero-emissions, according to the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association. And a recent study from the Clean Freight Coalition found that the United States would need nearly $1 trillion in new infrastructure investment to allow for the electrification of the commercial truck fleet.
Further, a 2022 study from the American Transportation Research Institute highlighted the extensive raw material, grid, and manufacturing challenges facing plans to fully electrify of the nation's trucking sector.
"The current state of available zero-emission technology, very limited heavy-duty charging and refueling infrastructure, and an unstable power grid make the post-2030 targets entirely unachievable," said American Trucking Associations senior vice president of legislative affairs Henry Hanscom.
"ATA believes the most effective path to fixing the serious flaws in GHG3 is through legislative and administrative means," Hanscom continued. "That’s why we welcome this effort led by congressman Feenstra and Senator Crapo calling on EPA to withdraw this unworkable rule and review the targets to account for the operational realities of trucking."
In addition to the letter, a separate group of Republicans, led by Sens. Pete Ricketts (R., Neb.) and Dan Sullivan (R., Alaska) and Reps. John James (R., Mich.) and Russ Fulcher (R., Idaho), introduced a resolution in early May to overturn the heavy-duty trucking regulations.
The EPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.