Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019

Floor Speech

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Mr. LOUDERMILK. Mr. Chairman, under the Clean Water Act, Congress gave the Environmental Protection Agency the authority 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.

To avoid any ambiguity, Congress further defined the term ``motor vehicle'' as a ``self-propelled vehicle designed for transporting persons or property on a street or highway.''

Until recently, regulators understood, as any reasonable person would, that the term ``self-propelled vehicle'' only applies to vehicles that can move on a roadway under their own power, such as cars, pickup trucks, semi trucks, SUVs, or vans. Never was a trailer, whether a utility trailer pulled by a pickup truck, a boat trailer pulled by a car, or a cargo trailer pulled by a semi considered a self- propelled vehicle, and, therefore, these were never under the regulatory authority of the EPA.

However, in 2016, without any authority of Congress, the EPA extended its regulatory authority and included cargo trailers in the rules for greenhouse gas emissions and fuel efficiency standards for on-road, heavy-duty vehicles and engines. This rule will require cargo trailers to add components that, in some cases, have shown to improve aerodynamics, resulting in some improvement in fuel efficiency. However, this blanket policy, which has resulted from regulatory overreach, is not only costly to consumers, but, in some cases, is counterproductive to the Agency's own mission of promoting clear, clean air policies and practices.

The additional weight of these aerodynamic components that are being mandated by the EPA will cause carriers to significantly limit the amount of cargo a single trailer can carry and still stay within DOT weight restrictions. Therefore, carriers have to put more trucks on the highway to carry the same amount of goods. Obviously, more trucks mean more carbon emissions without any measurable improved efficiency.

If the EPA is able to enforce this regulation, it will not only be counterproductive to the environment, but also very costly to American consumers.

The trucking industry has made significant strides in recent years to improve fuel efficiency and reduce air pollution, without the government mandates.

This amendment simply prevents the EPA from using any funds in this act to regulate trailers under the greenhouse gas rule. Congress never extended to the EPA the authority to regulate trailers under the Clean Air Act, because trailers are not and have never been considered self- propelled vehicles.

I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this commonsense amendment, so we can put an end to this blatant regulatory overreach.

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Mr. LOUDERMILK. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Griffith), and I thank him for his hard work on this amendment.

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Mr. LOUDERMILK. Mr. Chairman, I urge all of my colleagues to join the gentleman from Virginia and myself in support of what is a commonsense upholding of our constitutional authority as the legislative branch, and I encourage a ``yea'' vote on this amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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