U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) has teamed up with Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and other lawmakers in filing an amicus brief earlier this week urging the Appeals Court to uphold a lower court ruling that struck down the Biden administration’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions performance rule.
This rule, imposed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), would require state Departments of Transportation (DOT) and cities to set targets to reduce GHG emissions on the National Highway System—a mandate heavily criticized by rural states like Alabama for being burdensome and impractical.
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In the brief, the senators argue that Congress deliberately rejected giving FHWA the authority to regulate GHG emissions in this way. Despite this, the FHWA used existing statutes to introduce the rule, which the senators claim oversteps congressional authority and violates the Administrative Procedures Act. They further contend that this rule mirrors an Obama-era initiative repealed by the Trump administration.
The rule mandates state DOTs to reduce emissions, a task many argue is unnecessary, especially in rural areas with little congestion. The rule has faced significant opposition from rural state governments, including Alabama, which cite the administrative and financial burdens it would create without clear environmental benefits.
This legal challenge forms part of a broader effort by Tuberville and other lawmakers to push back against what they see as executive overreach in environmental regulation. Earlier this year, Tuberville supported a Congressional Review Act resolution that passed in the Senate to nullify the GHG rule.
Joining Tuberville in this legal effort are 27 other Republican senators, including John Barrasso (R-WY) and Ted Cruz (R-TX), as well as representatives from the House, who introduced the brief alongside Senators Tuberville and Cramer.
The case continues to move through the courts as part of the ongoing debate about federal authority in environmental regulation and its impact on states.
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