Ernst, Grassley Urge Biden Admin to Choose Less Burdensome, More Affordable Emissions Rule

Press Release

On behalf of Iowa auto dealers and truck drivers across the country, U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) are working to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from placing overly burdensome emissions regulations on commercial motor vehicles.

In March 2022, the EPA proposed a rule that provides two options for reducing tailpipe nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from commercial motor vehicles. Option 1 drastically aims to reduce 90 percent of NOx emissions by 2031, which will be costly to the trucking industry and risk thousands of good-paying jobs. Option 2 aims at a 75 percent reduction in NOx emissions by 2027 and later, which is far less burdensome on truckers.

The senators' letter urges the EPA to move forward with Option 2, providing flexibility for Iowans to adequately plan for the costs associated with the ruling. If the EPA chooses to move forward with Option 1, 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."

"Iowa's truck dealers are greatly appreciative of Senator Ernst's efforts to encourage the EPA to adopt a workable and technologically achievable option in its pending nitrogen oxide (NOx) rulemaking…the kind of common-sense leadership that Iowa's truck retailers admire in Senator Ernst," said Bruce Anderson, President of the Iowa Automobile Dealers Association.

"We commend Senator Ernst for her leadership on this issue, which is the top issue facing the trucking industry today," said Scott McCandless, Chairman of the American Truck Dealers and President of McCandless Truck Center.

Senators Ernst and Grassley are joined by their colleagues Senators Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Boozman (R-Ark.), Braun (R-Ind.), Capito (R-W.Va.), Cramer (R-N.D.), Crapo (R-Idaho), Daines (R-Mont.), Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Hoeven (R-N.D.), Lankford (R-Okla.), Lummis (R-Wyo.), Risch (R-Idaho), Tillis (R-N.C.), and Young (R-Ind.).

Read the full letter here.

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