U.S. Sens. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) and Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) signed on to an amicus brief requesting an appeals court uphold a U.S. District Court decision ruling the Biden-Harris administration’s highway emissions final rule is illegal.
The rule would impose “one-size-fits-all” requirements on how state departments of transportation and cities report and measure greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on the highway system, according to the senators. The rule requires cities and state departments of transportation to set declining targets for GHG emissions. The 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,” the senators said in the brief. “In doing so, [FHWA] impermissibly usurped the Legislative Branch’s authority and promulgated the GHG performance measure without statutory authority delegated by Congress.”
The senators continued, “Put simply, when [FHWA] established a GHG performance measure regulation, it exceeded the powers Congress authorized. And it did so both at the expense of separation of powers and in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act.”
The brief argues Congress debated and rejected granting FHWA the authority to issue GHG performance measure rules and the 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.
Click here to see the amicus brief.
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