Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has once again stood up in opposition to an aspect of President Joe Biden's policy agenda, this time in regard to newly proposed and more stringent vehicle emission standards by the Environmental Protection Agency, The Hill reported.

The relatively moderate Democratic senator from West Virginia described the EPA's proposed new standards as "dangerous" and a deceptive "Trojan horse" that would threaten "national and energy security" and work to the economic and strategic benefit of the Chinese communist regime.

EPA set to increase vehicle emissions standards again

On April 12, the EPA announced that it had drafted "new, more ambitious proposed standards to further reduce harmful air pollutant emissions from light-duty and medium-duty vehicles starting with model year 2027."

Those new vehicle emissions standards would be even more stringent than the current standards for model years 2023 through 2026 that only just came into effect, and would be phased in over the model years of 2027 through 2032.

That same day, the EPA also proposed "more stringent standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from heavy-duty (HD) vehicles beginning in model year (MY) 2027," and would apply to heavy-duty "vocational vehicles (such as delivery trucks, refuse haulers, public utility trucks, transit, shuttle, school buses, etc.) and tractors (such as day cabs and sleeper cabs on tractor-trailer trucks)."

As with the new proposed standards for light- and medium-duty vehicles, the new proposed standards for heavy-duty vehicles would go far beyond the already more stringent regulations that were recently put in place.

White House champions new EPA emissions proposals

Unsurprisingly, the White House cheered on the EPA proposals with a "fact sheet" on April 12 that heralded the "accelerated" agenda of achieving American production of solely "zero-emissions vehicles" within the next two decades.

The Biden administration claimed that the new standards would reduce CO2 emissions by as much as 10 billion tons by 2055, would save the average vehicle owner up to $12,000 in reduced fuel and maintenance costs over the vehicle's lifetime, and save the nation as a whole upwards of $12 billion in reduced imports of foreign oil.

The "fact sheet" further asserted that, once the new EPA standards were finalized and in effect, it was estimated that around 67 percent of "new sedans, crossovers, SUVs, and light trucks" would be fully electric, as would around 50 percent of "new vocational vehicles," 35 percent of "new short-haul freight tractors," and 25 percent of "new long-haul freight tractors."

Manchin opposes "dangerous" new EPA emissions standards

On Tuesday, Sen. Manchin issued a press release that made it abundantly clear that he did not support the EPA's new proposed vehicle emissions standards that are even more stringent than the admittedly strict standards already in place.

"The EPA is lying to Americans with false claims about how their manipulation of the market to boost EVs will help American energy security. In reality, this is a Trojan horse," Manchin said in the statement.

"To meet these timelines will mean strengthening our reliance on minerals and technologies controlled by the Chinese," he continued. "Taken in concert with the clear violation of the [Inflation Reduction Act] to undermine provisions that would actually secure these supply chains, this Administration is taking steps that will only result in a more energy secure and powerful China."

Manchin added, "I don't believe that making progress on climate change should come at the expense of our national and energy security. I fully support Congress overturning these dangerous EPA regulations."

To that effect, The Washington Times reported that Manchin has teamed up with Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) and other Republicans on a Congressional Review Act resolution that would require only a simple majority in both the House and Senate to reject the new emissions standards once they have been formally imposed.