Attorney General Paxton sent a letter to Deputy Administrator Stephanie Pollack of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) after FHWA proposed a rule that could cost the United States hundreds of millions of dollars and upend the way of life for millions.
With this new “Greenhouse Gas Emissions Measure” (GHG Measure), FHWA has proposed requiring states to set “on-road” CO2 targets that are based upon the Biden Administration’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. But Congress never gave FHWA the authority to overhaul the transportation industry to achieve such dramatic and costly climate goals, nor does FHWA have any expertise to justify its proposing sweeping changes in environmental policy.
Granting FHWA the power to require all transportation to be carbon neutral, on a timeline predicated upon a political agenda, would outlaw almost overnight the way that tens of millions of Americans travel every year--imposing astronomical costs and personal hardships on our citizens.
The letter can be read in its entirety by clicking here.
In addition to the Texas letter, Attorney General Paxton has joined two other letters that also express significant concerns with the proposed rule. The Kentucky-led letter, which can be read here, discusses the ways in which the measure violates federalism principles and notes that FHWA’s previous attempt to issue a similar rule was repealed. The Oklahoma-led letter, which can be read here, addresses how the proposed rule would violate statutory text and the Appropriations Clause of the U.S. Constitution.