November 28, 2022 - WASHINGTON – On behalf of Iowa auto dealers and truck drivers across the country, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) are working to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from placing overly burdensome emissions regulations on commercial motor vehicles. As inflation continues eating into Americans’ pocketbooks, overbearing regulations would increase trucking costs – further driving up the price of goods and services for consumers.

In March, the EPA proposed a rule that provides two options for reducing tailpipe nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from commercial motor vehicles. Option one drastically aims to reduce 90 percent of NOx emissions by 2031, which would be costly to the trucking industry and risk thousands of good-paying jobs. Option two aims for a 75 percent reduction in NOx emissions by 2027 and later, which would be far less burdensome on truckers.

The senators’ letter urges the EPA to move forward with option two, providing flexibility for Iowans to adequately plan for the costs associated with the rule. If the EPA chooses to move forward with option one, the ruling will increase costs for equipment – disincentivizing Iowans from entering the trucking industry and harming the already strained supply chain.

In their letter, the senators write: “We urge you to finalize a rule that is technologically achievable, acceptable, and affordable to American customers who haul freight and work from these trucks…Estimates show that Option 1 would raise the price of heavy-duty diesel trucks by an average of $42,000, as well as increase operating costs and likely cause a ‘pre-buy, no-buy’ scenario that would harm the market.”

Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.) Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), James Risch (R-Idaho), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) also signed the letter.

Full text of the letter is available HERE.
Source: Senator Chuck Grassley