Findings

Congress finds that— (1) the 12-percent Federal retail excise tax on all new heavy trucks, tractors, and trailers, coupled with new regulatory mandates, significantly increases the cost of new heavy-duty trucks, tractors, and trailers and discourages the replacement of older, less environmentally clean and less fuel economical vehicles; (2) this 12-percent Federal retail excise tax is the highest percentage rate of any Federal ad valorem excise tax; (3) the Federal excise tax was first levied by Congress in 1917 to help finance America's involvement in World War I; (4) the 12-percent Federal retail excise tax routinely adds $7,000 or more to the cost of new trailers, $20,000 or more for new clean diesel trucks, and as much as $50,000 to the next generation of trucks with advanced engine technologies; (5) nearly 34 percent of the Class 8 trucks on the road are pre-MY2010 trucks and lack more than a decade of environmental and safety technological advancements; (6) from 2011 through 2030, this generation of diesels will save approximately 1,300,000,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions and 130,000,000,000 gallons of fuel, while yielding cumulative savings of 1,000,000 tons of particulate matter and 18,000,000 tons of nitrogen oxide; (7) an owner of a single Class 8 truck powered by the latest clean diesel engine can expect to save about 2,200 gallons of fuel each year compared to previous generations of technology; (8) since the late 1990s, cleaner fuel and advanced engines have combined to reduce nitrogen oxide (NO x) emissions and particulate matter (PM) emissions by 98 percent; (9) 60 trucks manufactured today emit the same amount as 1 truck manufactured in 1988; (10) the Federal excise tax disproportionately impacts electric and alternative-fueled trucks, which currently have a higher up front cost, at a time when adoption of these technologies is needed to accelerate the transition to zero emission vehicles and the reduction of carbon pollution from transportation; (11) in 2020, there were approximately 1,300,000 United States manufacturing, supplier, dealership, and heavy-duty trucking and trailer related jobs; (12) since the Federal retail excise tax on certain new heavy trucks, tractors, and trailers is based on annual sales, receipts from the tax deposited in the Highway Trust Fund can vary greatly; (13) Congress should consider a more reliable and consistent revenue mechanism to fund the Highway Trust Fund; (14) Congress should advance the deployment of the most modern, clean, and safe trucks through eliminating the Federal excise tax on trucks; and (15) repealing the Federal excise tax would result in the replacement of older internal combustion engine trucks with new heavy duty trucks that employ the latest safety and environmental technologies.