NGFA supported legislation recently introduced in the House and Senate that would nullify the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) rule imposing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions performance measures on state departments of transportation.
The bill, introduced by Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas; Kevin Cramer, R-N.D.; and Ranking Member Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.; and Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., addresses an “unlawful regulation” that “pressures states with a burdensome and constricting mandate.”
The FHWA imposed a rule in November 2023 to create a GHG performance measure. However, the authority for the U.S. Department of Transportation to establish these rules was intentionally excluded from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) passed in 2021 due to a lack of congressional support.
In a letter to lawmakers sent earlier this month, the NGFA and several other agricultural groups said they would support any congressional efforts to block the GHG rule’s implementation.
“Our organizations supported investments made in the IIJA, which include programs dedicated to carbon reduction and infrastructure resilience,” the letter stated. “However, regulatory overreach outside the bounds of the IIJA has the potential to limit improvements to our infrastructure.”