Biden’s Climate Crackdown on Heavy-Duty Trucks Will Threaten Food Production, Republicans Warn

Less than 1 percent of new truck sales are electric

A coalition of more than 150 House and Senate Republicans are calling on the Biden administration to withdraw a slate of environmental regulations targeting heavy-duty trucks, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.

The lawmakers—led by Rep. Randy Feenstra (R., Iowa) and Sen. Mike Crapo (R., Idaho)—will send a letter, first reviewed by the Free Beacon, to Environmental Protection Agency administrator Michael Regan later Tuesday, highlighting the potential severe impacts the regulations will have on the nation’s economy, electrical grid, and agriculture industry.

The effort from Feenstra, Crapo, and their 150 fellow GOP lawmakers comes three months after EPA finalized the rulemaking, which officials said includes the strongest-ever greenhouse gas emissions standards of their kind. The regulations mandate substantial emissions reductions from the heavy-duty trucking sector beginning in 2026 for model year 2027 vehicles.

It represents the latest effort from Republicans pushing back on the Biden administration’s broader efforts to electrify the U.S. transportation sector. Democrats and environmental activists have for years set their sights on transportation, pointing to its large carbon footprint: The sector is responsible for nearly 30 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

“The Biden administration’s mandate that impacts all trucks, tractors, buses, and semis would strain our supply chains, hurt our farmers, harm our economy, and increase costs for every single American,” Feenstra said in a statement.

“On top of inflation, poor economic conditions, and other regulations, this de facto EV mandate on our truckers, manufacturers, farmers, and dealers will hike the cost of groceries, utility bills, and everyday goods that American families rely on,” he continued. “It’s also a deliberate attack on liquid fuels—including homegrown Iowa biofuels—that are vital to our energy, economy, and national security.”

Crapo added that “heavy-handed, top-down environmental policies do more harm than good.”

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