On July 25, Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) sent a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama, urging him to support the “maximum feasible” fuel economy standards, as called for in the S. 357: Feinstein-Snowe Ten-in-Ten Fuel Economy Act, which was signed into law as part of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.
The letter, endorsed by 20 senators, may have been prompted by Washington, D.C. scuttlebutt: Bloomberg Businessweek today exclusively reported that the Obama Administration had waffled on its proposal for a 2025 U.S. fuel-economy average—reducing it to 54.5 miles per gallon from the original 56.2 miles per gallon proposed in June— in its latest offer to automakers, according to two people familiar with the negotiations.
“The White House is pressuring automakers to agree as early as today to a framework for a rule, to be released by September 30,” said the Bloomberg (News - Alert) sources, who asked not to be identified because the talks are confidential. The rule is to take effect in 2017.
In today’s correspondence, Senators Feinstein and Snowe said, “We understand that your Administration is in stakeholder discussions regarding standards for cars, pick-up trucks, and SUVs from 2017 to 2025. We thank you for your efforts to build consensus around strong standards that meet the statutory mandate, and we encourage you to ensure that the standards resulting from these talks will not be weakened.”
The new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards—which would represent the first increase in 25 years – would, the Senators said, “raise the fleetwide average to the equivalent of 35 mpg by 2016, save about 1.8 billion barrels of oil, and reduce nearly a billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions over the lives of the vehicles covered. As a result, American consumers will have more efficient vehicle choices in the market just as the price of oil has risen substantially this year.”
They noted that a technical assessment by the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “demonstrates that a significant increase in fleetwide fuel economy – 6 percent annually – is both technically feasible and cost-effective for consumers.”
In closing the Senators urged the Executive Branch to remain “aggressive” in its goals: “Your implementation of this law will save American consumers and businesses billions of dollars at the gas pump for decades to come. This year’s spike in oil prices reminds us once again of the importance of efforts to reduce America’s dependence on oil. We appreciate … your … initiative to propose harmonized standards that aggressively reduce both oil use and pollution.”
For a complete copy of the letter and a list of the signatories, visit Senator Feinstein’s website.
Cheryl Kaften is an accomplished communicator who has written for consumer and corporate audiences. She has worked extensively for MasterCard (News - Alert) Worldwide, Philip Morris USA (Altria), and KPMG, and has consulted for Estee Lauder and the Philadelphia Inquirer Newspapers. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by
Rich Steeves
