| WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) joined Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and 25 of their colleagues in sending a letter to Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Deputy Administrator Stephanie Pollack voicing their strong opposition to the agency’s proposal to implement a greenhouse gas emissions performance measure on state departments of transportation and metropolitan planning organizations, despite having no authority from Congress to do so. “This outrageous greenhouse gas mandate would make it impossible for states, like Wyoming, to maintain and improve our infrastructure,” said Sen. Lummis. “People in Wyoming deserve new and improved roads without unnecessary government overreach.” “Nowhere in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act did Congress provide FHWA with any statutory authority to impose the performance measure or the requirement to set declining targets on state departments of transportation (DOTs) and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) contained in this proposal,” the senators wrote. “FHWA cannot create of its own choosing the authority that Congress debated, considered, and rejected.” “FHWA’s attempt to create new authorities where Congress has not provided them would infringe on state DOTs’ necessary flexibility to meet the surface transportation needs of their residents,” continued the senators. The Transportation Departments of Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, and North Dakota also submitted formal comments opposing FHWA’s GHG proposed rulemaking. The States emphasized that the agency lacks the authority to implement these rules. Click here to read the full letter. |
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