Republicans Aim to Stop Biden Administration's War on Truckers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding the emissions CRA:

“Today, the senior Senator from Nebraska will advance a resolution to push back on the Biden Administration’s war against American energy and industry.

“Senator Fischer’s resolution responds to the Biden Administration’s new plan to hike already stringent vehicle emissions standards even higher.

“This latest rule on nitrogen oxide emissions takes direct aim at the sort of trucks and heavy equipment that literally drive our economy.

“Back in 2021, climate activists got the President to invoke ‘environmental justice,’ in an executive order rolling out its so-called ‘Clean Trucks Plan.’ The same bureaucrats who can’t control inflation or secure the border want to even more closely micromanage the heavy vehicles allowed on our roads.

“Never mind that the nitrogen oxide emissions of new trucks on the market are already 98 to 99% lower than they were as recently as the late 1990s!

“By the EPA’s own estimates, the new technology required to meet the latest arbitrary benchmarks could jack up truck prices by as much as $8,304 each.

“Listen to what the truckers themselves have to say: ‘If small business owners can’t afford the new, compliant trucks, they’re going to stay with older, less-efficient trucks, or leave the industry entirely.’

“‘Leave the industry entirely’?

“Higher priced trucks. Fewer drivers. Higher costs for consumer goods. That’s an outcome working families and supply chains just can’t stomach.

“I’m grateful to Senator Fischer for bringing this resolution forward and I urge each of our colleagues to support it.”