April 28, 2023 |
Photo – Semi Truck – Bigfoot99 file photo
In Washington, D.C., the U.S. Senate, Thursday, narrowly passed a bill overturning tough Biden-era emission rules on the big trucks that bring essential goods to the American people. The vote was 50-to-49.
The bill, which was backed by Republicans and Democrat Joe Manchin, would repeal the White House rule finalized in December. The White House said it would veto the measure.
Republicans argued the rule would make trucks cost prohibitive for small business owners and increased supply chain costs to consumers while making the U.S. more reliant on China. The White House said the rule “cuts pollution, boosts public health, and advances environmental justice.”
The partisan vote included all 49 Republican Senators and Democrat Joe Manchin from West Virginia voting against the bill which designed to protect the trucking industry and American consumers. The rest of the Senate Democrats held with the White House and voted against the measure.
Under the Congressional Review Act, a simple majority vote in both chambers of Congress can reverse recently finalized rules. The House of Representatives has not yet voted on the bill.
The resolution was led by Nebraska Republican Senator Deb Fischer, who contended that the regulation would devastate the trucking industry, raise costs for consumers, and incentivize older, less efficient trucks to stay on the road.
The narrow vote in the Senate fell far short of the two-thirds majority that would be needed to override a veto, which the Biden White House has already said it would do.
The trucking industry has expressed concerns about the Biden rule, saying compliance will be difficult and costly. Consumers will bear the price.
Views on what the Biden rule will cost to implement vary widely. The White house estimates up to $8,300 per vehicle. The American Truck Dealers Association estimated a $42,000 increase per truck. Other industry experts say the final cost of outfitting trucks to make them legal will range between $20,000 to $25,000 range per truck on the national level.
Ironically, the Biden rule — like Kremlin-era rules in the old Soviet Union—likely will backfire with citizens—companies–devising inventive ways to outsmart the central government’s rules.
By increasing the cost of a new truck, the regulation incentivizes private companies to keep older, higher-emitting trucks in service longer. Industry analysts also predict a massive buy-up of current truck inventories already on the market before the new Democrat rule goes into effect.
In a statement Thursday, Wyoming Senator John Barrasso said the rule is misguided and will hurt both truckers and hard-working Americans. “Families across Wyoming cannot afford higher food prices and more supply chain delays in exchange for Biden’s green dream,” Barrasso said.
Wyoming’s junior Senator Cynthia Lummis said the increase on truckers will be brutal tax on Wyoming residents. “The government’s top priority right now needs to be finding ways to lower costs and a massive Green New Deal tax on truckers is going to do the exact opposite,” said Senator Lummis.
The rule’s new standards cover nitrogen oxides (NOx) and other air-borne pollutants, including hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide (CO).
Existing regulations on trucks enacted in 2010, resulted in a decrease in NOx emissions between 98% and 99% compared to models from the late 1990s.
The first new, ultra-low emission engines are set to roll out in 2026. The Biden rule goes into effect in 2027.
