Shelley Moore Capito - Ranking member of the Environment and Public Works committee | Official U.S. Senate headshot
Shelley Moore Capito - Ranking member of the Environment and Public Works committee | Official U.S. Senate headshot
U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito and Kevin Cramer have introduced a joint resolution of disapproval to overturn the Biden administration's illegal emissions performance measure imposed on state departments of transportation (DOTs) and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs). The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued a rule in 2023 that mandated DOTs and MPOs to set declining emissions targets, despite this authority being specifically excluded from the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Ranking Member Capito expressed her concerns about the Biden administration's disregard for the bipartisan law, stating, "FHWA's final rule limits the flexibility of states to advance their own transportation investment priorities, jeopardizing critical investments, jobs, and economic growth across the country. As we've done before, I am committed to working with my Senate and House colleagues to hold the Biden administration accountable."
Senator Cramer also criticized the regulation, stating, "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."
The resolution has garnered significant support, with nearly half the Senate cosponsoring it. Additional cosponsors include U.S. Senators Mitch McConnell, John Thune, John Barrasso, Joni Ernst, and many others.
A companion version of the resolution has also been introduced in the House of Representatives, led by US. Reps. Sam Graves and Rick Crawford.
This effort to overturn the FHWA's emissions mandate stems from previous concerns raised by Ranking Member Capito during a hearing in June 2023. At the hearing, she outlined major concerns about the proposed rule with FHWA Administrator Shailen Bhatt. In October 2022, Capito and Cramer led 25 of their colleagues in sending a letter to FHWA Deputy Administrator Stephanie Pollack expressing their strong opposition to the agency's proposal.
The resolution of disapproval text can be accessed here, and a letter of support for the resolution from stakeholders can be accessed here.