Trucking rules described by Oklahoma Congressman Josh Brecheen as “draconian” were defended this week by President Biden who vetoed and put the brakes to a congressional effort to overturn them.
In his veto message, the President defended the administration’s rule governing pollution from heavy-duty vehicles including trucks and buses.
“The rule cuts pollution, boosts public health, and advances environmental justice in communities across the country. It will prevent hundreds, if not thousands, of premature deaths; thousands of childhood asthma cases; and millions of missed school days every year,” he said in the message to Congress.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the attempt the “most recent attempt congressional Republicans to pollute the air our children breathe.”
In the House, all five of Oklahoma’s representatives voted to dump the EPA plan to enforce tougher emissions restrictions on heavy-duty trucks sold after 2027.
“The EPA’s ridiculous new emissions standards are another example of bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. thinking that they know more than America’s more than three million truckers,” said Rep. Brecheen after voting for the measure to stop the EPA.
The EPA estimates the new requirements could cost as high as an extra $8,304 per vehicle. The rule could impose as much as $55 billion in regulatory costs on the trucking industry between 2027 and 2045.
Oklahoma U.S. Sen. James Lankford was also an opponent of the EPA plan.
“This is yet another regulation forced on the American people that will drive up prices even more. Americans welcome energy efficiency, when it is affordable and available, but (what) this regulation requires will increase the price of diesel trucks by almost $50,000, if they can even get the parts for the upgrade,” he explained.
