Exclusive: Sen. Joni Ernst Hits the Brakes on Green New Deal for Trains

By admin On May 15, 2025

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) on Thursday introduced legislation that would derail efforts by Democrat states to institute zero-emission trains.

“I am derailing another Green New Deal mandate coming down the tracks,” Ernst told Breitbart News in a written statement.

“We have to keep California’s crazy train ideas from leaving the station. Railroads play a critical role in transporting the goods that our farmers produce and that we rely on every day, and the idea of zero-emission trains is completely off the rails,” she continued.

Ernst introduced the Lifting Overburdensome Commerce Obstructions and Motives (LOCOMOTIVES) Act to bar Democrat states such as California from using waivers from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requiring all new trains to be zero-emission by 2030 for industrial use and 2035 for normal hauling.

Ernst Train Bill by Breitbart News on Scribd

California last year applied for a waiver from the Biden EPA to enforce this proposal.

The Golden State rule would have also banned trains older than 23 years from operating in the state, which would limit the amount of time trains can idle. It also would have established a spending account for rail operators to pay into based on their emissions.

The EPA considered the waiver, but California withdrew the request earlier this year.

While states such as California have considered deindustrializing its state, the Hawkeye State senator held a hearing on Wednesday on how Congress can fuel the American small manufacturing boom.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Ernst, the Senate Small Business Committee chair, introduced the Made in American Manufacturing Act, a bill that would double the individual loan limit for the 7(a) and 504 small manufacturing loans from $5 million to $10 million.

She said:

I believe in a great American comeback, one driven by the world’s most talented workforce and a new era of domestic manufacturing ensuring this nation’s economic security.

We can make “Made in America” the norm instead of the exception.

Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, we are already seeing the early signs of a manufacturing revival and industrial boom in Iowa and all across the country.

She added, “No group is more eager to lead this charge than small manufacturers, who make up 98 percent of all manufacturing firms in the United States.”