House and Senate transportation leaders press DOT on impeding GHG emissions measure

WASHINGTON, July 5, 2017 - Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware, the top Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee, and Rep. Peter DeFazio, ranking Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao requesting information on the agency’s recent action to indefinitely delay provisions of a final rule requiring states to track on-road greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The rule, established in 2012, also requires states to measure and set performance targets to control congestion, improve air quality and monitor freight movement, but DOT has indefinitely delayed only the provisions that pertain to GHG emissions and has not allowed public comment on the change. Carper and DeFazio said that the move “clearly demonstrates cherry picking of a particular policy within the rule that this administration finds objectionable.” Carper and DeFazio noted that the inclusion of the GHG measure in the final rule garnered significant public support, including supportive comments from over 91,000 citizens, more than 100 businesses, numerous local officials, some 100 cities, and over 100 public interest, non-profit, and advocacy organizations. The text of the letter is available here.