Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) fired the latest salvo in his ongoing conflict with the Biden administration over climate policy.
The moderate Democrat lent his support to two Republican proposals intended to overturn key pieces of the Biden climate agenda Wednesday. First, he cast the deciding vote to pass a GOP-backed bill that would overturn EPA regulations on trucks. Then, he co-sponsored a bill that would reinstate tariffs on solar imports. The moves follow previous threats from Manchin to vote to overturn the $740 billion Inflation Reduction Act entirely.
First, the Senate passed a Congressional Review Act joint resolution on Wednesday that would roll back the EPA’s stringent restrictions on nitrogen oxides and particulate matter emissions from heavy-duty trucks. The vote was 50-49, with Manchin casting the deciding vote.
“The last couple of years have shown that truck drivers keep our country moving,” Manchin said in a statement after the vote. “However, the Biden Administration wants to burden the trucking industry with oppressive regulations that will increase prices by thousands of dollars and push truck drivers and small trucking companies out of business. When our country faces record-high inflation and vulnerable supply chains, we cannot let the EPA continue to seize unrestrained power and create regulations that devastate our economy. I am proud to support this resolution to stop this government overreach.”
The Biden administration, however, has already signaled that the rollback will not become law. The White House said Wednesday that Biden would veto the bill. The restrictions, which would affect trucks beginning in model year 2027, are estimated to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 48% by 2045, Roll Call reported. They are expected to cost around $3.9 billion in 2027 and $4.7 billion in 2045, the Washington Examiner noted.
