Senators voted Tuesday to overturn Biden administration regulations limiting emissions from tire manufacturing, sending the resolution to President Donald Trump’s desk for a signature.
In a 55-45 vote, the Senate passed a resolution that would undo the Environmental Protection Agency’s standards relating to hazardous air pollutants from rubber tire facilities. The bill passed the House in March. It was introduced by Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) and advanced through the Congressional Review Act, which provides an expedited process for Congress to cancel rules, bypassing the filibuster in the Senate.
In November 2024, the EPA finalized the national standards under the Clean Air Act to protect public health from hazardous air pollutants released during the tire manufacturing process.
Republicans argued that the rule increases compliance costs for the industry and results in higher prices for consumers. At the time, the agency estimated that the standards would cost the industry approximately $13.3 million per year.
Sens. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) sponsored the resolution in the upper chamber.
The “rule is counterproductive in every sense and the type of government inefficiency and overreach Americans are sick of,” Scott said. “It will increase emissions and cost job creators millions in compliance expenses each year.”
Republicans have been using the Congressional Review Act in attempts to overturn Biden administration energy and climate regulations that are not aligned with the current administration.
The environmental group EarthJustice pressed lawmakers to vote against the bill, stating that it would harm air quality in nearly a dozen communities, including Mt. Vernon, Illinois; Findlay, Ohio; and Texarkana, Arkansas.
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“Thanks to clean air standards, Americans breathe less pollution and are healthier today – with fewer deaths, hospital visits for asthma, and lost school and work days because of illness,” EarthJustice wrote. “Children need clean air protection the most, because they are more exposed and more vulnerable to the effects of pollution and toxic chemicals.”
Once a CRA resolution is signed into law, a federal agency could no longer promulgate a similar regulation.
