Biden Vetoes GOP Measure to Roll Back EPA’s Heavy-Duty Truck Pollution Rule

Trucks drive through the Port of Oakland on March 31, 2023 in Oakland, California. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

As expected, President Joe Biden has vetoed a Republican-backed resolution that disapproves the federal government’s latest attempt to tighten air pollution standards for heavy-duty trucks.

Biden announced his veto on Wednesday, accusing Republicans of trying to set back his efforts to improve the country’s air quality.

“Earlier, I vetoed a Republican resolution to repeal an EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) standard that will make our air cleaner and prevent thousands of premature deaths by limiting hazardous heavy-duty vehicle pollution. This would take us backwards in our fight against air pollution, so I’m blocking it,” Biden wrote on Twitter.

Feds Boasts Penitential Benefits

Under the EPA rule finalized last December, new heavy-duty trucks and engines starting 2027 will have to meet a set of stricter-than-ever standards to slash emission of air pollutants, particularly nitrogen oxides, which can react with oxygen to create ground-level ozone or smog. It applies to trucks of sizes ranging from Ford F-250 pickups to semi-trucks.

The rule is the Biden administration’s latest move towards implementing its Clean Truck Plan, an “ambitious agenda” the EPA said would move America’s “highly polluting” heavy-duty trucking fleet towards “low-carbon and electric technologies.”

The EPA, which has a broad range of environmental and public health regulations nationwide, estimates that the rule will result in many public health benefits by 2045, including preventing up to 2,900 deaths, 6,700 hospital and emergency room visits, and 18,000 cases of childhood asthma every year.

Overall, the EPA project an annual $29 billion in net economic benefits from the change.

Republicans Push Back Changes

Republican lawmakers were not convinced. Instead, they pointed to the perceived immediate rise of transportation costs, arguing that the change would only make Americans’ lives harder since almost every product they buy is at some point transported by a truck.

“The EPA’s own estimates say their emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks could cost more than $8,000 per semi-truck,” Republican members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee said last month in opposition. “This will jack up prices for everything transported by truck, including food, clothing, [and] building materials.”

“The American people can’t afford this regulation, and it'll force small operators [to] close up shop, which will wreak havoc across our supply chains,” they warned.

Among the rule’s fierce critics is Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), who chairs House Energy and Commerce Committee. In a speech on the House floor, she condemned Biden for pushing the electrification of the entire transportation sector without considering its financial impact that could ripple into people’s everyday lives.

“The costs will be passed on directly to Americans, many of whom are living paycheck to paycheck,” the congresswoman said. “Imagine someone who is already being forced to make tough choices for their family at the grocery store, the gas pump, the pharmacy.”

“With the EPA’s rule, they will be paying and sacrificing even more—for food, clothing, fixing their homes, and trying to provide for their families,” she added.

The Vetoed Resolution

A joint resolution that would nullify the truck air pollution rule first narrowly squeaked through the Senate in April by a 50-49 vote, with all Republicans voting “Yes” and all Democrats except the fossil energy-friendly Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) voting “No.” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who would have voted against it, was absent.

The resolution then moved to the House, where Republicans enjoy a larger majority. It passed the lower chamber on May 23 by a vote of 221-203.

Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), the resolution’s sponsor, said that the EPA rule might not even be able to achieve its stated goal to reduce air pollution, considering that smaller truck fleets would likely be forced out of business.

“The irony is, the prices of newer vehicles will escalate, incentivizing truckers and businesses to hold onto their older, higher-emitting trucks,” she explained in a Senate floor speech. “Smaller, more affordable trucking businesses will close up shop, and the ones that can afford higher prices will raise their rates. This means consumers will be paying more money to a smaller group of businesses.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Thomas Carper (D-Del.), who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works, argued that the standards are “achievable” and made with the stakeholders’ interests in mind.

“These standards are achievable, and they provide predictability for industry, which the blunt tool of the CRA would undercut,” Carper said. “EPA listened to a range of stakeholders during the rulemaking process and finalized standards that are feasible and cost-effective for manufacturers and fleet operators.”

If the Republicans’ effort succeeded, Carper warned, it would set a precedent and “prevent the agency from ever issuing similar standards in the future.”

The president’s veto didn’t come as a surprise to the resolution’s opponents and proponents alike. In fact, the White House vowed to use the veto power shortly after it cleared the Senate.

“Heavy-duty vehicles and engines contribute to pollutants that threaten public health,” the White House said in April. “The final rule cuts pollution, boosts public health, and advances environmental justice.”