WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today joined Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) in introducing a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to overturn emissions performance measures the Biden administration is illegally imposing on state transportation departments (DOTs) and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs). 

The rule at issue, finalized last year by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), would require DOTs and MPOs to establish declining emissions targets. However, the agency does not have the authority to do this. In fact, Congress intentionally wrote the law on which the FHWA is leaning, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), to preclude such abuses of power.

“The Biden administration is once again blowing past congressional intent and wielding its heavy hand,” Grassley said. “Instead of burying Iowa and other states in administrative burdens, federal bureaucrats ought to empower states’ work by reducing red tape and giving them more latitude. Our resolution will hold the Biden administration accountable and rein in its latest attempt at executive overreach.”

“The absence of a prohibition is not a license, and yet the Biden administration pushed this illegal and infeasible regulation anyway. New York and North Dakota have very different transportation systems, needs, and capabilities, but under this one-size-fits-all mandate, they’re effectively treated the same. A subway stop at a cattle ranch is silly and unserious, and so is the idea of widespread EV use in North Dakota. Nearly half the Senate cosponsored this resolution from the onset, showing strong appetite for this rule to be defeated,” Cramer said.

This effort to overturn FHWA’s emissions rule has garnered support from nearly 40 groups representing agricultural producers and manufacturers, as well as the Chamber of Commerce. Grassley and Cramer are joined in the Senate by 46 colleagues, including Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Leading the House companion resolution are Reps. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Rick Crawford (R-Ark.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. 

Background:

Iowa in 2023 made record investments in roads and bridges, thanks in large part to IIJA awards. Grassley supported the legislation in 2021 and continues to closely monitor the law’s implementation. A few months after the bill was enacted, Grassley and his colleagues urged FHWA to revise a memo that ran contrary to the letter and spirit of the IIJA. 

Grassley has also been quick to shine light on the Biden administration’s abuses of power. In a letter to the president last year, Grassley criticized the executive branch for skewing its application of bipartisan laws and dismissing the will of the elected Congress. Learn more HERE. 

Resources accompanying the CRA resolution: