Biden’s administration hasn’t hesitated in imposing environmental regulations by fiat. Separation between powers? Who cares about it? Why bother about constitutional processes when your agenda can be rammed through the bureaucracy with ease?
The Republicans in Congress are challenging the latest rule of the Environmental Protection Agency that aims to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from heavy-duty trucks. The rule will go into effect on 21 June.
On Wednesday, Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Rep. Russ Fulcher of Idaho introduced a joint resolution that would use the Congressional Review Act to allow Congress a vote to annul the rule.
John Gallagher, Freightwaves, explains that if a CRA resolution of disapproval is passed by both houses of Congress with the signature of the president – or if Congress overrides a veto – the rule will not be implemented. If it is already in effect, the rule will be revoked immediately upon the passage of the resolution. According to the Congressional Research Service, the rule “will be treated as if it had never been implemented.”
Fulcher stated in a press statement:
Biden’s latest push to promote electric vehicles is out of line. It will limit consumer choice, increase our dependence on foreign adversaries, and directly impact transportation in Idaho. Charging centers can use as much electrical power as a small town. Electric trucks are twice as expensive as diesel trucks and can’t haul as much.
Senator Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., said: “President Biden’s EV mandate” is a delusion. agreed. This rule will make buying a car harder for rural families or low-income families. I promised Nebraskans that I would use all the tools I had to combat this. “Our bipartisan legislation will protect consumer choice and keep costs low while protecting us from becoming more dependent on CCP.”
We reported on this last month.
Biden’s rules will result in long-haul trucks able to travel only 200 miles before recharging, traffic congestion, and increased costs for everything, from iPhones to apples, to reach the store shelves.
The Wall Street Journal stated that Biden’s rules were his “most expensive and fanciful” to date, but they are as real as heart attacks — and just as fatal to the U.S. economic system.
Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., said that the new regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency are burdensome and the exact opposite of what we have come to expect under the Biden Administration.
Collins, the owner of a trucking firm, has been warning for weeks that the mandate is yet another bad big-government scheme.
The EPA’s new EV mandate for trucking companies is a prime example of why government regulation is never the answer.
When the cost of transportation goes up, the costs for consumers go up. https://t.co/ckV6oFxZCz
— Rep. Mike Collins (@RepMikeCollins) April 2, 2024
Fulcher and Sullivan are not alone in their opinion. Ed Gilroy is the chief advocacy and public relations officer of the American Trucking Association. He told Freightwaves, that the GOP resolution highlights the need for the EPA to incorporate the operational realities in trucking into their final regulation.
Some experts think that this rule will be especially devastating to small trucking companies.
Todd Spencer, President of the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association said: “This could have disastrous effects on America’s reliability and supply chain. This will ultimately affect the cost and availability of consumer goods.” Local mom-and-pop trucking companies would be crushed by the cost and operational challenges posed by mandating EV trucks.
The CRA has been successful only 20 times since 1996. If the CRA fails, Republicans can take legal action. Sullivan, however, believes he can convince some Democrats to join him in the Senate.
Sullivan told a press briefing that “Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is fully supportive and I believe it’s very likely we’ll be able to get other Democrats on board because they are hearing from their constituents.” Then, we’ll watch to see if Joe Biden will veto what the overwhelming majority of members of the House of Representatives and Senate wants.
