[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 114 (Wednesday, July 10, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H4532-H4533]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1015
          IMPOSSIBLE RULES FROM CALIFORNIA AIR RESOURCES BOARD

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. LaMalfa) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, last year, California's air regulator, 
known as the California Air Resources Board, finalized a new rule that 
would require freight railroads in the State to adopt zero-emissions 
locomotives for industrial use by the year 2030, only 6 years from now, 
and for normal hauling by 2035. It is now requesting a waiver from the 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to proceed with this rule.
  This EPA CARB rule would effectively require all locomotives to 
operate in a zero-emissions configuration when operating in California. 
Sounds nice in theory, doesn't it?
  This regulation would limit the useful life of thousands of 
locomotives currently in use across the rail network and require 
transition to zero-emissions technology. What is that going to do to 
the cost of moving goods with technology that is not yet even available 
widely?
  Even by CARB's own admission, this rule will drive many short-line 
railroad operators out of business. Short-line railroads are very 
important for moving freight in the interim from manufacturers, from 
granaries, from wherever, out to the mainline. We are just going to 
eliminate them. What will we replace them with? More trucks. We love 
trucks, but there is a role for trucks, for short-line and for long-
haul railroads.
  CARB also admits this rule will be shifting the transport of goods to 
many more trucks with much more truck traffic. They admit to that, 
which is the opposite of their stated goal of reducing emissions.

[[Page H4533]]

  Rail operators have not even been able to acquire full tier 4 
locomotives yet due to the availability and stretch in technology, 
which isn't there yet. We can't acquire tier 4 locomotives, which is 
already being bypassed by new tiers that CARB wants to push, basically 
going to all-electric trains. This isn't the all-electric train we have 
in the basement. This is the real world here.
  It would make more sense for the bureaucrats at CARB to just take a 
break a little bit from their carbon-neutral crusade and let rail 
operators come to the tier 4 standards for the locomotives that they 
are still trying to develop as being compliant.
  These tier 4 locomotives are 85 percent cleaner than other older 
technology already. That sounds like a win to me. That is a bingo, as 
some might say, instead of pushing net-zero locomotives on such a 
ridiculous timeline. Because of their obsession with net zero and 
carbon reductions, CARB is actually working against their own goals 
they are stating here.
  It is estimated the U.S. EPA approval would result in close to 65 
percent of the Nation's class I railroad locomotive fleet being banned 
from operating in California just 6 years from now.
  General Van Ovost, the head of the U.S. Transportation Command, 
expressed concerns that this regulation will negatively affect the 
economy as well as the military readiness posture--moving the tanks and 
heavy equipment that you see sometimes on the railway, these big long 
trains of items the military has to deploy to wherever. By reducing the 
ability to transport this military equipment in and out of California 
from different parts of the country, it could severely impact their 
ability for military readiness.
  When I asked about this CARB regulation in committee yesterday, they 
said the military is going to be exempt. I guess that is good. The 
things that are really important, CARB is going to exempt. I guess 
goods movement, movement of agricultural products, and movement of food 
isn't as important. Instead, we are going to be force-fed this rule.
  A large collection of national, State, and local agriculture groups 
have expressed great concern that this CARB rule poses a significant 
danger to U.S. agriculture's ability to transport products domestically 
or to our ports. We already have enough trouble getting stuff into our 
ports.
  It needs to be stated that technology for these replacements does not 
yet exist on these new types of locomotives.
  Freight railroads contribute only 0.5 percent total U.S. greenhouse 
gas emissions, as defined by WHO, and 1.7 percent to total 
transportation-related greenhouse gas. All of this is to reduce the 
amount of CO2, carbon dioxide, which is currently only 0.04 
percent of our atmosphere, practically a rounding error.
  Again, EPA approval of this rule would result in close to 65 percent 
of the Nation's class I railroad locomotives being banned from 
operating--what will that do to our supply chain--by 2030, with tier 4 
locomotives that are not even fully available yet, let alone the next 
set of technology they are trying to mandate.
  This will slow our farmers' ability to get food to our tables and our 
ports. It will be rotting in the fields or sitting somewhere while 
waiting for an electric train to recharge and be able to go another 100 
miles.
  It will delay and raise prices of materials used to build and heat 
our homes.
  It will raise prices for middle-income and lower-income families who 
are already struggling with inflation and so many policies from this 
administration.
  Every stage of automobile production and sale, including EVs, will be 
pushed by the same people who are also pushing this rule. Bureaucrats 
are once again going after anything carbon related without considering 
the effects of this crusade against carbon.
  We need not follow the California Air Resources Board as a whole 
country. They are not even elected. They are appointed by the Governor. 
They might be elected locally as a supervisor or something, but they 
are not elected by anybody to be on the CARB.

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