The Senate recently voted against a rule from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) that asked states to measure and reduce carbon emissions from vehicles on the national highway system.
This rule, Reg. 2125-AF99, was made in November 2023 by President Joe Biden to cut carbon emissions by half by 2030. It would make state transportation departments measure their emissions and set goals to reduce them.
Some states sued over this rule, saying it could hurt job growth, stop future development, and put expensive rules on states. They think it’s the government going too far. The Senate voted 53–47 to pass a resolution that stops this rule. It was introduced by Senators Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), and Senators Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) also supported it.
Senator Cramer said the rule was wrong because it made states do things they shouldn’t have to. He said the Senate will now vote on his resolution to cancel this rule, which he thinks is illegal.
Truckers are happy about this decision. The American Trucking Association (ATA), the biggest group for truckers, said this rule was a problem. Ed Gilroy, from ATA, said the rule didn’t follow the law and would slow down building roads. He said it was too much government control and would make it harder for states to get money for roads.
Some judges also disagreed with this rule. A judge in Texas said it went beyond what the FHWA should do, and another judge in Kentucky said it was too much government power but only stopped it in some states, not everywhere.
The White House said President Biden would say no to this decision if it passes. They think this rule is a good way to control emissions from cars and helps decide where to spend money on roads.
The FHWA said they still want to fight for this rule, even though many people don’t like it and judges stopped it for now. They want to keep working towards cutting pollution from cars.