GOP Lawmakers Target EPA Fuel Plan

Republicans in Congress are threatening the future of an Environmental Protection Agency rule that would require trucks to use low-sulfur diesel fuel.

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Congressional sources said that there is a movement afoot to attach a rider to the Department of the Interior and independent agency appropriation bill, which includes funding for EPA, that would put a halt to the rule while the National Academy of Sciences conducts a review.

The low-sulfur measure has raised concerns among some industry lobbyists because they believe it would send diesel prices through the roof. As proposed, the rule would reduce the amount of sulfur in diesel fuel from the current federal cap of 500 parts per million to 15 ppm as of June 1, 2006.

Congress can attach a rider to any appropriations bill with a simple voice vote. Riders are not subjected to public debate and are often slipped into budget bills just before they are sent to the president.

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