Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017

Floor Speech

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Mr. LOUDERMILK. Mr. Chairman, under the Clean Air Act, Congress directed the EPA to regulate ``any air pollutant from any class or classes of new motor vehicles or new motor vehicle engines, which may be reasonably anticipated to endanger public health or welfare.''

Congress further defined ``motor vehicle'' as a ``self-propelled vehicle designed for transporting persons or property on a street or highway.''

Mr. Chairman, any reasonable person would understand that self- propelled vehicle means a vehicle that can propel itself of its own initiative. One would think of pickup trucks, semis, vans, or cars. One thing that does not come to mind is the back portion of a tractor trailer being the trailer portion which has no way of self-propelling itself.

Unfortunately, the EPA doesn't seem to see it that way. In last year's proposed rules for greenhouse gas emissions and fuel efficiency standards for on-road heavy-duty vehicles and engines, the EPA attempted to regulate truck trailers as self-propelled vehicles.

Furthermore, the EPA has a voluntary program called SmartWay that provides engineering guidelines for aerodynamics and reduced truck weight. SmartWay, which is voluntary, is intended to improve fuel efficiency for combined tractor tailers.

However, SmartWay only improves fuel efficiency when tractor trailers are traveling at highway speeds of more than 50 miles per hour. SmartWay provides no benefits whatsoever when the tractor trailers are traveling at less than 50 miles per hour around towns which are where most of the tractor trailers are used in the United States. But EPA wants to mandate all trailers to be governed by SmartWay, even those that travel less than 50 miles per hour.

In fact, if the government manipulates the weight of trailers, cargo gets displaced which results in more tractor trailers on the road, higher consumer prices, and more greenhouse gas emissions just to meet current freight demands.

Mr. Chairman, the trailers that EPA is proposing to regulate are highly customized to the individual specifications of each customer. Trailer manufacturers should not be forced to comply with a one-size- fits-all standard especially when given that so many trailers do not gain any fuel efficiency benefits from SmartWay.

My amendment would prevent the EPA from using any funds in the bill to regulate trailers under the greenhouse gas rule. Not only should these guidelines remain voluntary because they only benefit some trailers, EPA has no business regulating trailers under the Clean Air Act given that they are not self-propelled.

This proposed regulation by the EPA is another example of a Federal agency overstepping its bounds and attempting to enact a regulation that benefits some parts of the economy but harms others.

If this attempted overreach by the EPA is enforced, it will be costly and counterproductive because the private sector is moving faster to improve fuel efficiency and reduce air pollution than the EPA can move.

Congress would be wise to stop this regulation and keep the SmartWay program voluntary and let trailer manufacturers do what they know is best for their individual customers.

I urge all Members to support this amendment.

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Mr. LOUDERMILK. We do not at this time.

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Mr. LOUDERMILK. Mr. Chairman, once again, as we have seen with the agencies, there is a lot of overreach. Quite often, if you give them an inch, they take a mile.

I think it is imperative that we be proactive in this issue to ensure that we protect an industry that has done a good job of regulating itself.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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