S. 4657

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4657 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4657

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the excise tax on 
heavy trucks and trailers, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

June 2, 2026

Mr. Young (for himself and Ms. Alsobrooks) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the excise tax on 
heavy trucks and trailers, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Modern, Clean, and Safe Trucks Act 
of 2026''.

SEC. 2. 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<INF>x</INF>) 
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.

SEC. 3. REPEAL OF EXCISE TAX ON HEAVY TRUCKS AND TRAILERS.

(a) In General.--Chapter 31 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
amended by striking subchapter C (and by striking the item relating to 
such subchapter from the table of subchapters for such chapter).
(b) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Section 4072(c) of such Code is amended to read as 
follows:
``(c) Tires of the Type Used on Highway Vehicles.--
``(1) In general.--For purposes of this part, the term 
`tires of the type used on highway vehicles' means tires of the 
type used on--
``(A) motor vehicles which are highway vehicles, or
``(B) vehicles of the type used in connection with 
motor vehicles which are highway vehicles.
``(2) Exception for mobile machinery.--
``(A) In general.--Such term shall not include 
tires of a type used exclusively on mobile machinery.
``(B) Mobile machinery.--For purposes of 
subparagraph (A), the term `mobile machinery' means any 
vehicle which consists of a chassis--
``(i) to which there has been permanently 
mounted (by welding, bolting, riveting, or 
other means) machinery or equipment to perform 
a construction, manufacturing, processing, 
farming, mining, drilling, timbering, or 
similar operation if the operation of the 
machinery or equipment is unrelated to 
transportation on or off the public highways,
``(ii) which has been specially designed to 
serve only as a mobile carriage and mount (and 
a power source, where applicable) for the 
particular machinery or equipment involved, 
whether or not such machinery or equipment is 
in operation, and
``(iii) which, by reason of such special 
design, could not, without substantial 
structural modification, be used as a component 
of a vehicle designed to perform a function of 
transporting any load other than that 
particular machinery or equipment or similar 
machinery or equipment requiring such a 
specially designed chassis.''.
(2) Section 4221 of such Code is amended--
(A) in subsection (a)--
(i) by striking ``(or under subchapter C of 
chapter 31 on the first retail sale)'', and
(ii) by striking ``4051 or'',
(B) in subsection (c), by striking ``and in the 
case of any article sold free of tax under section 
4053(6),'', and
(C) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ``, and, in 
the case of the taxes imposed by subchapter C of 
chapter 31, includes the retailer with respect to the 
first retail sale''.
(3) Section 4222(d) of such Code is amended by striking 
``4053(6),''.
(4) Section 4293 of such Code is amended by striking 
``section 4051,''.
(5) Section 4483(g) of such Code is amended by striking 
``section 4053(8)'' and inserting ``section 4072(c)(2)''.
(6) Section 6416(b)(2) of such Code is amended by striking 
``or under section 4051''.
(7) Section 6416(b) of such Code is amended by striking 
paragraph (6).
(8) Section 9503(b)(1) of such Code is amended by striking 
subparagraph (B) and by redesignating subparagraphs (C), (D), 
and (E) as subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D), respectively.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to sales and installations on or after the date of the enactment 
of this Act.
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