Looking Ahead: 黑料社区Policy Priorities in 2025
When Donald Trump is inaugurated on January 20, the Republican Party will have a federal government trifecta for the first time since the 115th Congress in 2017.
Having retained its majority in the House with a very small margin, Republicans will kick off the 119th Congress with a five-seat majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. Republicans also become the majority in the Senate, holding 53 of 100 seats, with a potential tiebreaking vote from incoming Vice President JD Vance.
Among the notable transitions and Committee Chairmanships, Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO) will chair the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee after the House Republican Steering Committee granted him a waiver to serve a second term.
The House Steering Committee selected Congressman Brett Guthrie (R-KY) to serve as Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee in the 119th Congress, replacing Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA).
In the Senate, Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) will now Chair the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which oversees climate change and air quality and carries jurisdiction over the Environmental Protection Agency. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) will serve as Ranking Member. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) will preside as Chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.
Congress closed out 2024 with the Senate voting in favor of a bipartisan Continuing Resolution. The spending plan extends current government fiscal levels until March 14, 2025, and provides $110 billion in relief for natural disaster victims and farmers. It further grants an extension for the farm bill, which must be reauthorized.
Extension of the CR into March presents an opportunity early in 2025 to advance several 黑料社区priorities. Newly reelected House Speaker Mike Johnson said he aims to have a budget reconciliation package on President-Elect Trump鈥檚 desk by the end of April.
Debate over tax policy also will heat up in 2025 amid the pending expiration of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. This tax legislation, which includes individual income, passthrough business, and estate tax provisions, will serve as a significant legislative football throughout the year.
In the coming year, 黑料社区will continue to advance market-oriented policies that can enhance the fuel supply while lowering fuel prices for consumers and improving the environmental attributes of transportation energy. The association also will focus on transportation-related policies to ensure they refrain from harming off-highway businesses.
FUELS POLICIES
Biodiesel Blenders鈥� Tax Credit
Of importance to 黑料社区members, Congress closed out 2024 with the Senate introducing a companion bill to extend the Biodiesel Blenders鈥� Tax Credit.
Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Pete Ricketts (R-NE) on December 19, 2024, introduced the Biodiesel Tax Credit Extension Act of 2024, which would extend the Biodiesel Blenders鈥� Tax Credit for one year. S. 5582 is a companion to H.R. 9060, introduced mid-2024 by Representatives Mike Carey (R-OH) and Ann Kuster (D-NH) in the House and had nearly 30 co-sponsors.
Although these must be reintroduced in the 119th Congress, they serve as important markers demonstrating clear support for extending the longstanding $1 per gallon biodiesel blenders鈥� tax credit.
A new Clean Fuel Production Tax Credit (also known as 45Z) went into effect January 1. This new credit is designed to incentivize the domestic production of fuels with 50 percent lower lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions than petroleum. At the time of this writing, the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Treasury had not issued critical guidance detailing the value of the tax credit across the fuel supply value chain, despite a significant push from energy, transportation and agricultural sectors throughout the year.
黑料社区is advocating for a retroactive extension of the biodiesel blenders鈥� tax credit while urging the agencies to issue guidance for the new Clean Fuel Production Tax Credit (45Z).
E15
National year round E15 sales of gasoline blended with up to 15 percent ethanol (E15) were not included in the year-end final stopgap government funding bill. The issue is expected to build momentum heading into 2025.
黑料社区and many organizations are calling on legislators to address the issue of E15 as quickly as possible at the start of the new Congress.
Changes made to the Clean Air Act more than three decades ago included a Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) volatility waiver for E10. E15, which was rarely used at the time, was not provided with the same RVP allowance as E10, even though it is slightly less volatile.
When the House of Representatives released its initial legislative text for a year-end funding package, at that time it included a provision allowing for year-round, nationwide sales of E15. The language would have eliminated the need for EPA to consider using its emergency waiver authority to allow E15 to be used each summer and supersedes the state petitions filed by Midwest Governors.
Electric Vehicles
President-elect Donald Trump campaigned in part on rolling back the Biden Administration鈥檚 pro-electric vehicle policies, including new vehicle emission standards and the California waiver that would ban most new gasoline-powered cars by 2035.
黑料社区will continue to advocate for market reforms to ensure that travel centers investing in electric vehicle charging stations can generate a return on their investment.
The Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Treasury in 2024 issued proposed regulations that clarify changes made to the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit (Section 30C) of the Inflation Reduction Act. Section 30C allows taxpayers to claim a tax credit on qualified alternative fuel vehicle refueling property placed in service between December 31, 2022, and December 31, 2032, including electric vehicle chargers.
黑料社区submitted comments on the proposed rule and continues to urge the agencies to finalize a rule as quickly as possible.
The number of states advanced initiatives in 2024 aimed at opening the door for private investment in electric vehicle charging stations continued to grow in 2024 as states continue to prohibit electric utilities from using ratepayer money to own, lease, operate or control EV charging stations or give the private sector right of first refusal on site locations.
Questions have surfaced in recent weeks over whether the incoming Administration can redirect unspent funds from climate programs, including funds allocated under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) grant program in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The NEVI program was designed to kick start the market for electric vehicle charging, and many states already are advancing projects approved by the outgoing Administration.
Money that is already allocated is expected to be insulated, however questions remain as to how much of the funding is formally obligated.
Industry stakeholders also will urge the Trump Administration to address the need to set more reasonable timeframes for transitioning commercial trucks to electricity, including pushing the Trump Administration to reopen the Greenhouse Gas Phase 3 Rule and revise the goals to an 鈥渁chievable standard.鈥� Under the rule, CO2 emissions must be reduced by up to 60 percent for vocational trucks and 40 percent for tractor trucks by model year 2032.
Trucking companies also are struggling with more aggressive mandates for zero-emission vehicles in California. Multiple states have now adopted the Advanced Clean Trucks Rule, which sets zero emission vehicle sale mandates for manufacturers.
TRANSPORTATION POLICIES
Rest Area Commercialization and Tolling
Current surface transportation law is set to expire in September 2026, and laying the groundwork for the next reauthorization will begin in earnest in 2025.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will conduct its first hearing on the state of the nation鈥檚 surface transportation on January 15. Lawmakers are expected to start drafting legislative text this year.
Long-term sustainable funding for the Highway Trust Fund will be a central issue as Congress reauthorizes funds for the nation鈥檚 infrastructure. The Congressional Budget Office projects that the Highway Trust Fund accounts will be exhausted by 2028. To cover past shortfalls, lawmakers have transferred $275 billion since 2008, mostly from the Treasury鈥檚 general fund. This includes $118 billion from the general fund via the 2021 infrastructure law.
For its part, 黑料社区will advocate long-term funding solutions that refrain from harming off-highway businesses. 黑料社区opposes any efforts to toll existing Interstate Highways and supports the longstanding prohibition on commercial rest areas.
黑料社区will remain vigilant to any tolling or rest area commercialization threats, both of which surfaced as funding proposals in 2018, when the Trump Administration rolled out its initial proposal for a $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan.
The first Trump Administration sought to shift the responsibility for financing infrastructure projects from the federal government to the states and the private sector. The Administration鈥檚 plan called for allowing states more flexibility to toll on interstates and for providing states with the ability to commercialize interstate rest areas.
As new proposals emerge for shoring up the Highway Trust Fund, 黑料社区policy will be guided by a set of high-level principles to guide the association鈥檚 assessment of infrastructure funding proposals set by its Board of Directors.
黑料社区has determined that infrastructure funding should be: user-based; simple, efficient and inexpensive to collect; difficult for taxpayers to evade; energy-source neutral; transparent; and dedicated to surface transportation for the benefit of the payer. NATSO鈥檚 Board of Directors also deemed that revenue generated by any funding solution should contain automatic adjustments to mitigate trends that decrease the revenue it generates.
Truck Parking
Lawmakers in 2025 will seek to advance measures that would dedicate federal funds for truck parking. The Truck Parking Safety and Improvement Act, sponsored by Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL.) and Angie Craig (D-Minn.), is expected to be reintroduced in 2025 along with a Senate version of truck parking legislation introduced by Senators Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyom.). The Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act, which would prioritize grants that demonstrate partnership with the private sector, has been widely supported in the transportation and trucking community.
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