[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 39 (Wednesday, March 1, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S548-S549]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Emissions Regulation

  Mrs. FISCHER. Madam President, my colleagues are here today to shine 
a light on the Biden administration's obsession with unhelpful and 
unnecessary regulations. We know that excessive redtape devastates our 
economy, and it harms communities. That is why the President's agenda 
needs to be stopped, and we can do it right here in the U.S. Senate.
  I have introduced legislation this Congress to push back against the 
administration's misguided rule intensifying emissions standards for 
heavy-duty vehicles.
  In my home State of Nebraska, 1 in 12 people are employed by the 
trucking industry, making it the third largest industry in our State. 
In the United States as a whole, over 3 million people work as 
commercial truckers, and American truckers transported almost 11 
billion tons of freight in the year 2021. Consumers all across the 
country rely on trucking to bring goods to markets quickly and 
affordably.
  Truckers play an essential role in our communities and our economy, 
but the Biden administration doesn't seem to agree with that fact. 
Instead, our

[[Page S549]]

President routinely chooses to prioritize excessive environmental 
regulations over people's livelihoods.
  Nowhere is this clearer than in the Environmental Protection Agency's 
recent rule establishing stricter emissions standards for heavy-duty 
vehicles. The Biden administration--well, they want to saddle hard-
working drivers with an onerous regulation that is going to increase 
vehicle costs and is going to deal a serious blow to good-paying jobs. 
This aggressive EPA rule will hit mom-and-pop truck operations the 
hardest. For trucks to be compliant with the new overregulation, it 
will be cost prohibitive for small business owners.
  Don't get me wrong. Nebraskans--over a quarter of whom work jobs 
related to agriculture--care deeply about environmental stewardship, 
but the EPA's emissions rule wouldn't actually accomplish its stated 
purpose of cleaning up our environment. The EPA itself estimates that 
the technology required to meet this new rule's standards will cost 
between approximately $2,500 and $8,500 per vehicle. This means that 
many truckers will choose to keep their old heavy-duty vehicles, which 
do have higher rates of emissions, instead of buying vehicles that are 
both affordable and more climate-conscious.
  During a period of high inflation and supply chain disruptions, the 
last thing this country needs is more expensive freight costs and fewer 
truckers. Congress needs to vote to overturn this excessive rule--one 
that will hurt both the transportation sector and consumers at large.
  The bottom line is that we have an obligation to stand up and push 
back against out-of-touch, far-left policies. I appreciate the work so 
many of my colleagues are doing toward this goal.
  Senator Braun is leading the charge to overturn the President's new 
environmental, social, and corporate governance rule on retirement 
funds. The Biden administration should not be playing games with 
Americans' hard-earned money like this.
  My friend Senator Tuberville is pushing back on the administration's 
Veterans Affairs rule that would funnel taxpayer dollars toward 
abortions.
  As Senator Capito shared earlier, she is leading us in resisting the 
Obama-era WOTUS rule implemented late last year. The WOTUS rule, which 
I have been fighting since my first term here in the U.S. Senate, is 
the Federal Government at its worst. It encroaches on families, on 
communities, and on businesses by its brazen intrusion into States' 
precious water resources.
  The Biden administration has a track record of prioritizing 
politically charged regulations over the financial and economic well-
being of Americans. My colleagues and I are here to stop these rules 
from taking effect on more and more Americans' lives before they damage 
the livelihoods of even more Nebraskans and more Americans across this 
country.
  As long as I have the honor of working in the U.S. Senate, I will 
continue to oppose radical, far-left rules and promote commonsense 
solutions instead. My colleagues on both sides of the aisle should join 
me.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator 
Young and I each be able to speak for 5 minutes prior to the scheduled 
vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.