By the SEMA D.C. office
The U.S. House Appropriations Committee approved legislation that would drastically reduce the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) budgets for FY 2024. If enacted into law, the bill would reduce DOI's budget by $677 million and EPA's budget by $4 billion when compared to FY 2023. The appropriations bill also includes SEMA-supported
amendments that prohibit the EPA from finalizing its proposed new federal emissions standards for motor vehicles model-years '27-'32, which are intended to dramatically subsidize sales of electric vehicles (EVs) and force the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to withdraw its proposed "Conservation and Landscape Health" rulemaking.
Representative Mike Simpson's (R-ID) amendment would prevent the EPA from finalizing its proposed emissions standards on light- and medium-duty vehicles, which the EPA estimates would lead to EVs making up two-thirds of all new passenger vehicles sold in the United States by 2032. Representative Dan Newhouse's (R-WA) amendment requires the BLM to withdraw its proposed "Conservation and Landscape Health" rule, which would allow the BLM to lease lands under new and vaguely defined conservation leases, incorporate new standards when evaluating traditional multiple-use decisions, expedite designations of new Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs) and apply land health standards to all public lands. BLM's proposed rule undermines the Federal Land Policy and Management Act's multiple-use requirement for BLM lands as it would hinder access to public lands for recreation, forest management, energy and critical mineral development and grazing. SEMA has submitted comments opposing both the EPA and BLM rulemakings during the past month.
The House Appropriations Committee passed the bill by a margin of 33 to 27. The bill now awaits a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives. Congress must pass 13 appropriations bills for FY 2024 before September 30 or pass legislation to continue government funding at FY 2023 levels to avoid a government shutdown.
You can read more about SEMA's efforts to protect vehicle choice and motorized recreational access by visiting our advocacy page's ICE Bans and Motorized Recreation sections.
For more information, contact Tiffany Cipoletti at tiffanyc@sema.org.