Providing for Congressional Disapproval of the Rule Submitted By the Environmental Protection Agency Relating to ``Control of Air Pollution From New Motor Vehicles: Heavy-Duty Engine and Vehicle Standards''

Floor Speech

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Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S.J. Res. 11. The legislation will disapprove of the Environmental Protection Agency's misguided heavy-duty vehicle rule that seeks to upend our economy in order to meet President Biden's extreme climate goals.

As a member of the Conservative Climate Caucus, I am not against reducing emissions--far from it. It should be done through innovation, not top-down government mandates that ignore reality. Trucks today show the power of innovation--I drive one of those--having already reduced emissions by 98 percent.

It seems like this administration has closed their eyes to any side effects of their rush to green. From tailpipe emissions regulations that will force people to buy expensive and less practical EVs to new rules on power plants that will threaten the reliability of our electric grid. It seems like the EPA hasn't even thought about the economic and energy security of our constituents.

In their final rulemaking, the EPA said they considered cost when deliberating these regulations. I am not sure how that could be true when they estimate it will cost thousands of dollars per truck to upgrade them with the necessary equipment.

The fact is small-truck owners and operators might not be able to afford these changes and will either go out of business or be forced to pass the cost on to the customer. On top of this, the rule also applies to trucks and equipment used by my farmers and farmers across the country.

Our supply chains are already stretched thin. Inflation is sky-high. Either of these scenarios worsens our economic outlook and raises prices for the consumers across the board. The trucks that haul our food, our energy resources, and our goods will be impacted. This is just the first of several, strict, heavy-duty vehicle emissions rules that the Biden administration is implementing.

In our modern digital economy, people and commerce depend on our truckers more than ever before. This rule will put further strain on our supply chain and increase costs for Michiganders and people across the country.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support the resolution.

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