WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, today spoke on the Senate floor in opposition of S.J. Res 61, a Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn the Federal Highway Administration’s greenhouse gas performance rule.

“We are confronted almost daily by signs that our planet is literally on fire,” said Senator Carper. “According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the United States just experienced the warmest winter on record … And last year, 2023, was the world’s warmest year on record … This is not a mere coincidence, but an unabated body of evidence that shows our planet continues to grow warmer and warmer … And the science is clear that greenhouse gas emissions are having a substantial effect on our changing climate.”

He continued: “The transportation sector … is the single-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, accounting for nearly thirty percent of our emissions economy-wide … This means that the cars, the trucks, the buses driven on our highways every day are a major source of the emissions that are warming this planet that we call home. And that is why the Federal Highway Administration’s greenhouse gas performance rule is so important and must be upheld by Congress. It’s simply not possible to meet our climate goals without addressing emissions from the transportation sector.” 

Click here to watch Chairman Carper’s full remarks on the Senate floor.