Senate Takes Aim at Biden Administration’s Latest One-Size-Fits-All Mandate

Floor Speech

Date: March 11, 2024
Location: Washington, D.C.
Issues: Transportation

“This week, the Senate will get yet another chance to pull the emergency brake on a particularly harmful piece of the Biden Administration’s federal regulatory state.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) finalized a rule late last year that would force states and local planning agencies to set declining greenhouse gas emissions targets and require them to meet those targets.

The idea is to make the entire country build its infrastructure the way the bluest coastal cities, like San Francisco, do. Subway stops, electrical vehicle chargers, and bike lanes in rural places like North Dakota.

It’s a one-size-fits-all mandate. In other words, it forces Middle America to say goodbye to urgent projects on the sort of transportation infrastructure that actually makes sense for them.

What’s more: the FHWA lacks the authority to implement this rule.

Congress explicitly debated and rejected language to authorize this type of target during the lead up to the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

So, I’m very grateful to my colleague Senator Cramer for taking the lead on this CRA. And I urge all of my colleagues to support it on the floor this week.”


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