CAFE legislation in Congress

CAFEwatch
December 2002

Congress adjourned without reaching agreement on the energy bill. That leaves the current CAFE law unchanged -- which means DOT will be required to issue new CAFE standards for light trucks.

Senate votes "No"
on extreme CAFE

In March 2002, the Senate voted nearly two-to-one against imposing drastic increases in CAFE standards on consumers. The key vote was 62-38 in favor of the Levin-Bond alternative to the extreme Kerry-Hollings CAFE provision. (See roll call.) Check news coverage of the Senate's 2002 CAFE debate.

The bill on the floor (S. 517) included a provision by Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Fritz Hollings (D-SC) to impose extreme CAFE increases -- limiting consumers to cars and trucks which average 35 mpg. That's similar to bills introduced in February by Kerry and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). Their proposal would dramatically reduce the availability of useful midsize and larger cars and light trucks.

Pro-consumer Senators are fighting the extreme Kerry-Hollings provision, by offering amendments or substitutes that would protect consumer choice and reduce the safety risk that would result from dramatic vehicle downsizing:

  • Sens. Carl Levin (D-MI) and Kit Bond (R-MO) are offering an amendment to allow NHTSA to set new CAFE standards, taking into account the effects on safety, jobs and choice. (Passed, 62-38.)
  • Sens. George Allen (R-VA) and George Voinovich (R-OH) held a news conference expressing support for the Levin-Bond alternative;
  • Sens. Zell Miller (D-GA) and Phil Gramm (R-TX) are proposing to exempt all pickup trucks from higher standards. (Passed, 56-44.)

    The Bush Administration has announced strong opposition to the Kerry-Hollings proposal. Thousands of consumers helped to demonstrate broad public support for protecting vehicle choice and safety, by sending messages to the Senate to OPPOSE higher CAFE restrictions on cars and trucks.

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    House passes energy bill, says "no" to extreme CAFE

    In August 2001, the House passed a national energy bill (H.R. 4), which includes a provision that would require some CAFE increase. But the House defeated an extreme amendment to force much higher standards, threatening the availability of popular pickup trucks, vans, mini-vans and SUV's.

    The extreme CAFE proposal is similar to legislation introduced this May by several pro-CAFE members, which would impose drastic increases in standards for light trucks, despite the adverse effect on consumers:

  • Senate (S. 804) - by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), and others.
  • House (H.R. 1815) - by Reps. John Olver (D-MA), Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), and others.
    As of January 2002, 15 Senators and 59 Representatives had signed on as co-sponsors of this anti-consumer legislation. (See the latest list of co-sponsors.)

    Their proposal would hike light-truck CAFE requirements to the same level as passenger cars, ignoring the different functions which trucks must be able to perform. That would increase light-truck CAFE from the current level (20.7 mpg) to 27.5 mpg -- a whopping 30 percent -- over just five years.

    In addition, the legislation would extend those same extreme CAFE requirements to the largest, heaviest pickups and vans (8500 - 10,000 lbs. GVWR), which are used almost entirely for commercial purposes. It's already difficult to achieve current CAFE standards, because of consumer demand. Including a new class of very large vehicles would reduce the CAFE averages of manufacturers - and yet the legislation would require a 30 percent increase at the same time!

    If enacted, this proposal would mean drastic restrictions in the choices of light trucks available to consumers. That's a direct threat to millions of farmers, ranchers, construction firms, landscapers, van and shuttle operators, and haulers of heavy equipment. It would force consumers to hold on to current vehicles longer than they had planned -- which would keep older, less efficient vehicles on the road (the exact opposite of the supposed goal of the CAFE program).

    • The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program was enacted in 1975. Since the mid-80's, concerns have increased about the adverse effects of the program on vehicle choice and highway safety.

    In 1994, the Department of Transportation threatened to impose drastic increases in CAFE standards on light truck users. Consumers protested, and CVC argued strongly against the DOT plan.

    Then Congress began to listen. At a 1995 House hearing, CVC testified on how the DOT plan would hurt consumers and safety. Other witnesses and House members also criticized the attempt to impose new CAFE restrictions on motorists.

    Temporary relief: From 1995-2000, Congress directed DOT not to increase CAFE standards, as part of the annual DOT budget. Those temporary "freezes" help to protect consumer choice. The final freeze provision (for FY2001) will keep current CAFE standards in place through MY2003. Later model years may still be at risk, depending on rulemaking actions by DOT or new legislation by Congress.

    Anti-car activist groups worked each to defeat the freeze, so that DOT could impose higher CAFE standards by regulation. Now that the freeze has ended, they're lobbying both for new regulations and legislation to impose drastic increases in CAFE standards -- raising requirements for light trucks to the same level as cars (despite the differences in vehicle types), and some calling for standards as high as 35-45 mpg! Groups like the Sierra Club call higher CAFE the "the biggest single step" to stop global warming -- even though that's clearly not the case. And they completely ignore the effect on consumers and safety.

    CAFE debate '99: Many members of Congress recognize the adverse effects of higher CAFE standards on consumer choice and safety, and have worked hard to defeat the extreme proposals of pro-CAFE activists.

    In 1999, anti-vehicle groups launched an all-out effort to kill the freeze in the Senate. But pro-consumer groups battled back, and the Senate voted 55-40 to retain the freeeze for another year. Read more about the '99 CAFE debate.

    CAFE debate 2000: In 2000, pro-CAFE groups tried again to impose restrictions on light trucks, focusing again on the Senate. But their efforts failed, as Congress kept the freeze for another year - and authorizing a new study of auto fuel economy by the National Academy of Sciences. Read more about the 2000 CAFE debate.

    CAFE debate 2001: In 2001, pro-CAFE members of Congress introduced new legislation (S. 804, H.R. 1815) to force big increases in CAFE standards on the public. Pro-CAFE groups also worked to insert their proposals into new energy legislation. In August, the House passed a national energy bill, which included modest increases in CAFE, allowing DOT to set the details. The House defeated a more drastic amendment, which would have mandated extreme increases in CAFE over a short period of time. Attention now turns to the Senate.

    Permanent reform: CVC and many other vehicle users believe the CAFE program is hopelessly flawed, working against consumers and safety, and that other approaches should be pursued to promote energy goals. CVC opposes efforts to impose new CAFE burdens on consumers, including misguided proposals to increase CAFE requirements for light trucks.

    What you can do: CVC and many of its member organizations have encouraged members of Congress to protect vehicle choice and safety by opposing higher CAFE proposals such as the extreme Kerry-Hollings provision in the Senate energy bill (S. 517). Make sure your your Senators and Representative know that you don't want to see further CAFE burdens imposed on the public. Ask them to support consumers by opposing the efforts of anit-vehicle activists who would limit consumer choice. Take a minute to send a letter to Congress, or can send your message by email.

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