Bipartisan Coalition of 37 House Members Push to Reduce Dangerous Dependence on Foreign Oil, Urge Stronger CAFE Standards

BIPARTISAN COALITION OF 37 HOUSE MEMBERS PUSH TO REDUCE DANGEROUS
DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL, URGE STRONGER CAFE STANDARDS
Members Weigh in on NHTSA's Proposed CAFERestructuring

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a letter today to Dr. Jeffrey Runge, Administrator of the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a bipartisan group of 19
Republican and 18 Democratic House Members, led by Science Committee Chairman
Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) and Representative Ed Markey (D-MA), a senior
Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, urged NHTSA to
"significantly increase fuel economy standards in its upcoming rulemaking process."

Noting that the nation's dependence on oil puts America's national security, economy
and environment at serious risk, the Members called upon NHTSA to take serious steps
to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign oil by aggressively addressing the efficiency of the
nation's automotive fleet, which is largest consumer of oil.

The letter was sent in anticipation of NHTSA's upcoming proposal to restructure the way
in which Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards are calculated. NHTSA is
considering fundamental changes to the way in which the CAFE program is structured
including basing fuel economy standards on size or weight, rather than having one
standard for all light trucks.

In their letter to Dr. Runge, the Members argued that any change in the CAFE program
"should significantly increase the overall fuel economy of the fleet and improve safety"
regardless of the future mix of vehicles in the fleet. The Members also said that any
restructuring of the program "must not allow overall fuel economy or safety to be
undermined," and that "any new program should provide automakers incentives to use
technological innovations to improve efficiency and safety."

In addition to Boehlert and Markey, the letter was signed by Representatives Mark Kirk
(R-IL), John Lewis (D-GA), Todd Platts (R-PA), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Wayne
Gilchrest (R-MD), Mike Castle (R-DE), Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD), John Olver (DMA),
Jim Saxton (R-NJ), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Ray LaHood (R-IL), Frank Pallone
(D-NJ), Vernon Ehlers (R-MI), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Jim Gerlach (R-PA), Eliot
Engel (D-NY), Chris Smith (R-NJ), Lois Capps (D-CA), Jim Leach (R-IA), Tom
Allen (D-ME), Nancy Johnson (R-CT), Hilda Solis (D-CA), Chris Shays (R-CT), Jay
Inslee (D-WA), Tim Johnson (R-IL), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Jim Ramstad (RMN),
Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), Sue Kelly (R-NY), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Frank
LoBiondo (R-NJ), Curt Weldon (R-PA), John Spratt (D-SC), George Miller (D-CA),
and Jim Davis (D-FL).

A PDF of the signed letter is attached. The text of the letter follows:

"Dear Dr. Runge:

"Our nation's dependence on oil puts America's national security, economy and
environment at serious risk. We must take steps to cut this dangerous dependence. For
this reason, we are writing to urge the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) to significantly increase fuel economy standards in its upcoming rulemaking
process.

"As you craft a proposed rule, we would like to advise you of three principles upon
which we believe a successful policy must be based. First, any proposed policy should
significantly increase the overall fuel economy of the fleet and improve safety. Second,
if NHTSA restructures the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program, any
change must not allow overall fuel economy or safety to be undermined. Third, any new
program should provide automakers incentives to use technological innovations to
improve efficiency and safety.

"Principle 1. Increase overall fuel economy and safety

"The biggest single step we can take to reduce America's oil dependence, save consumer
money at the gas pump, and curb greenhouse gas emissions is to require all new vehicles
to go farther on a gallon of gas. According to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS),
at today's gas prices "off-the-shelf" technologies such as more efficient engines and
smarter transmissions can safely and economically raise the average fuel economy of
America's cars and light trucks to at least 33 miles per gallon. Setting such a standard by
2015 would save 2 million barrels of oil per day by 2020. And even greater fuel savings
are possible if NHTSA considers more advanced hybrid technology and high-strength,
lightweight materials, two existing technologies that the NAS did not consider in its 2001
report.

"In addition to raising CAFE standards, we urge NHTSA to strengthen the existing
program to reap even more fuel savings. We strongly support the agency's consideration
of expanding the program to include vehicles up to 10,000 pounds Gross Vehicle Weight
Rating.

"Principle 2. Do not allow overall fuel economy or safety to be undermined

"We have serious concerns regarding the agency's consideration of fundamental changes
to the structure of the CAFE program, such as basing standards on weight. Such a system
could actually result in a fleet of less efficient and more dangerous vehicles if it were to
allow automakers to add weight to vehicle designs to qualify them for weaker fuel
economy standards. Any incentive to increase vehicle weight could simultaneously erode
fuel economy and have adverse implications for safety because it could increase
incompatibility in the fleet, making the heaviest vehicles, which are the most damaging in
crashes with other cars, even heavier.

"If NHTSA does propose an attribute-based standard, it must either be aggressive enough
to prevent a decrease in fuel economy regardless of the future mix of vehicles in the fleet,
or contain some other mechanism to prevent backsliding of overall average fuel economy
and vehicle safety.

"Principle 3. Encourage technology innovation to improve fuel economy and safety

"Any policy should provide an incentive for automakers to develop and use technology,
such as high-strength lightweight materials, to improve fuel economy and safety. These
materials, along with hybrids and the technologies identified by the NAS, show great
promise for improving fuel economy without reducing safety. As noted earlier, the NAS
analysis omitted more advanced hybrid technology which, in a very short time, has
moved from "experimental" to "off-the-shelf" to "on-the-road." A successful policy
should continue to encourage promising innovation.

"The United States' growing oil dependence, rising gas prices, and increasing greenhouse
gas emissions from vehicles put the country at risk. We urge you to increase CAFE
standards significantly to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and cut pollution from
U. S. vehicles, and to ensure that any reforms to the CAFE system decrease our
dependence on oil. We look forward to working with you throughout the rulemaking
process."

http://www.house.gov/markey/Issues/iss_energy_pr050720.pdf