President Joe Biden vetoed a Republican-backed bill that would have made cuts to a 2022 Environmental Protection Agency rule that set higher vehicle emissions standards in an effort to reduce air pollution.
The rule, adopted in December and set to take effect in 2027, calls for “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,” according to the EPA.
Republicans have criticized the rule for its negative effects on the trucking industry and subsequent effects on the larger economy.
“The Biden Administration’s misguided ‘green’ crusade knows no bounds,” said Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi). “The last thing American consumers need is another onerous regulation that will raise prices and crush our supply chain.”
Democrats have argued that the rule is desperately needed in order to improve air quality across the country. The Biden administration believes it is the key to improving the health of children in America.
“It will prevent hundreds if not thousands, of premature deaths; thousands of childhood asthma cases; and millions of missed school days every year,” said Biden in a statement.
Republicans were able to pass their agenda through the Senate, where Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) backed them. The House passed it in May, and many did not believe that Biden would achieve the two-thirds vote needed to veto a bill. Biden proved them wrong.
This is Biden’s sixth veto of his presidency. He recently blocked legislation to overturn his student debt relief program.
“Just think about it,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre during a briefing on Wednesday. “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.”
