President Joe Biden has vetoed SJ Res. 11, a bill backed by Republicans that aimed to roll back a 2022 EPA rule. The rule set stronger vehicle emissions standards to reduce air pollution and was set to take effect in the model year 2027. The final rule was adopted by the Environmental Protection Agency in December, and it sets new emission standards that are significantly more stringent and that cover a wider range of heavy-duty engine operating conditions compared to today’s standards. The change is needed because emissions from those trucks are important contributors to concentrations of ozone and particulate matter, posing a threat to public health.
Republicans were able to pass the measure through the Senate with the help of Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, and the House passed it about a month later in May. However, the veto override would require a two-thirds vote in both chambers, a high threshold not expected to be reached.
Republicans criticize the emissions rule as overly burdensome, arguing it will hurt the trucking industry and have negative ripple effects through the economy. Democrats say the rule is needed to limit pollution and improve air quality across the US. In a statement announcing the veto, Biden wrote that the EPA rule “cuts pollution, boosts public health, and advances environmental justice in communities across the country,” adding that it will prevent hundreds, if not thousands, of premature deaths, thousands of childhood asthma cases, and millions of missed school days every year.
The veto is the sixth of Biden’s presidency. Previously, he vetoed legislation that would have overturned his student loan forgiveness program, a bill that would have blocked a DC justice reform bill from taking effect, a bill overturning a retirement investment rule allowing managers to consider environmental, social, and governance factors when picking investments, a measure that would have rescinded the administration’s landmark water rule, and a resolution that would have blocked the temporary suspension of tariffs on solar panel imports.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters during a White House press briefing that “President Biden won’t let congressional Republicans take us backward in our fight for cleaner air.” She pointed to additional steps Biden has taken since taking office to protect the environment, including provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act to curb climate change. Jean-Pierre added: “Just think about it – while millions of Americans were taking shelter to escape unhealthy wildfire smoke made worse by climate change, congressional Republicans were pushing a bill to repeal the president’s efforts to make our air cleaner and safer.”
Original Story at www.cnn.com – 2023-06-15 03:36:00