Oversight Committee Leaders Statements on Flawed, Rushed CAFE Rule
August 28, 2012
House Oversight and Government Reform
Committee leaders today issued a statement after the Obama
Administration proceeded to finalize a new rule on auto efficiency that
were designed in secret and that will increase the cost of automobiles
and decrease vehicle safety.
“The rule finalized today by the Obama Administration will
hurt American consumers by forcing them to drive more expensive and
less safe automobiles. The Administration drafted these standards in
secret, strong-arming automakers and short-circuiting the deliberative
regulatory process to achieve a purely political result, abandoning
sound science and objectivity to appease its political allies in the
extreme environmentalist lobby,” said Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif.
“I support the goal of higher fuel efficiency, but this rule will only
add to the burdens American small businesses and middle class families
face under the heavy hand of the Obama Administration.”
Subcommittee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said,
““Last October, our subcommittee examined the rushed political process
used by the Obama Administration to impose its green-energy agenda
through CAFÉ. Our predictions were correct: The administration pushed
safety concerns aside in secret dealings that failed to reach out to all
stakeholders. This is just the latest example of this administration
trying to tell you what to buy rather than letting the market work.”
Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., owner of Mike Kelly Automotive in Butler, Pa.,
said:
“The Obama Administration’s MY 2017 to 2025 CAFE standards were
negotiated through a highly politicized and closed-door process that
flies in the face of the Administration’s avowed commitment to
transparency. While the production of more fuel efficient cars and
trucks is an important goal and one all manufacturers should aspire to,
it should never be done at the expense of the consumer, both in terms of
cost and safety. The standards announced today do both, and the
secretive and circumspect process by which they were established further
betray the American people, whose best interests were sidelined in
support of a radical environmental agenda that will require consumers to
pay more for cars that are less safe, pricings thousands out of the
market while compromising the safety of millions on the road.”
Last week, Committee leaders wrote to a top White House regulatory official, asking for a additional review of the secretly-negotiated rule. Earlier this month, the Committee released a staff report
documenting the flawed process used by the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
California Air Resources Board (CARB) and Obama Administration officials
in developing both the MY 2012-2016 and the MY 2017-2025 fuel economy
and greenhouse gas emission standards.
Evidence produced by the
Committee indicates the process violated the spirit and possibly the
letter of transparency and notice requirements in federal law. Evidence
also showed the Obama Administration selectively favored domestic
automakers over foreign automakers, providing domestic firms with
preferred access to information and Administration officials—in the wake
of taxpayer-funded bailouts of General Motors and Chrysler. According
to the report, the Administration’s flawed process will result in
decreased consumer choice, increased vehicle costs, and diminished
automobile safety.
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