Tuberville reiterates his opposition to the Biden-Harris's emissions rule

October 8, 2024 – WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) and Katie Britt (R-Alabama) joined U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota) in a bicameral amicus brief requesting the Appeals Court uphold the U.S. District Court decision that ruled the Biden-Harris administration's final rule is illegal.

Tuberville claimed that the rule is dysfunctional and would impose a one-size-fits-all requirements on how state departments of transportations (DOT) and cities report and measure greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on the highway system. This rule will require cities and state DOTs to set declining targets for GHG emissions. This presents a huge burden for rural states, like Alabama. Instead of accepting the District Court's ruling, Biden's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) appealed the decision, and it remains under further consideration.

"Congress considered, and ultimately rejected, providing [FHWA] with the authority to issue a GHG performance measure regulation, but [FHWA] contorted ancillary existing authorities to impose one anyway," Tuberville and the members of Congress argued. "In doing so, [FHWA] impermissibly usurped the Legislative Branch's authority and promulgated the GHG performance measure without statutory authority delegated by Congress."

"Put simply, when [FHWA] established a GHG performance measure regulation, it exceeded the powers Congress authorized," the Sens. wrote. "And it did so both at the expense of separation of powers and in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act," continued the members."

The brief argues that Congress has debated and rejected granting FHWA the authority to issue GHG performance measure rules. Instead of accepting Congress's constitutional powers as the final arbiter, Biden's FHWA then intentionally misconstrued Congressional intent to justify its improper exercise of authority. It also argues the rulemaking is not consistent with recent Supreme Court decisions paring back Executive Branch overreach, and FHWA is bypassing principles of federalism to further its own policy agenda.

Joining U.S. Senators Tuberville, Britt, and Cramer are U.S. Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), John Boozman (R-Arkansas), Mike Braun (R-Indiana), Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Steve Daines (R-Montana), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska), Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), John Hoeven (R-North Dakota), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Mississippi), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming), Roger Marshall (R-Kansas), Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma), Pete Ricketts (R-Nebraska), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota), Marco Rubio (R-Florida), Rick Scott (R-Florida), Tim Scott (R-South Carolina), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), John Thune (R-South Dakota), and Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi).

U.S. Representatives Sam Graves (R-Missouri) and Rick Crawford (R-Arkansas) introduced the brief in the House of Representatives.

Tuberville's office explained that in November 2023, the FHWA adopted a final rule that would impose (what Tuberville's office called "burdensome") GHG emissions performance measures on state departments of transportation and metropolitan planning organizations. Tuberville's office wrote that this is an "unnecessary" rule that will require state DOTs and metropolitan planning organizations to set declining targets for greenhouse gas emissions on the National Highway System. Many states, particularly rural states like Alabama, have criticized the proposal as an undue burden and impractical in areas where traffic congestion and emissions are already scarce. Furthermore, Congress has not provided the Department of Transportation (DOT) with any statutory authority to implement this proposal as the authority was intentionally struck from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) before enactment by the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee.

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