This week, we plan to introduce legislation to raise the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards to a fleet-wide 40 miles per gallon over ten years. Below are five good reasons to cosponsor our bill.

1. Higher CAFE standards keep America from relying on foreign sources of oil. Today, over half of the oil we use is imported — this makes up more than $50 billion of our merchandise trade deficit. We use a quarter of the world’s oil, but have only three percent of its oil reserves. We can’t drill our way to oil self-sufficiency, but we can significantly decrease the amount of oil we use by raising CAFE to 40 mpg.

2.Higher CAFE standards protect our air. Increasing CAFE standards to 40 mpg would cut greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light trucks by 273 million tons by 2010. Plus, by increasing fuel economy, we require less oil to be refined, thus avoiding the production of almost 150 million pounds of toxic emissions and 320 million pounds of smog-forming pollutants.

3. Fuel efficiency standards were raised easily 25 years ago, but have not changed since. Between 1975 and 1988, CAFE standards increased new car and truck fuel economy by 70% and sacrificed neither performance nor safety. Since then, there have been no changes made to the federal standard.

4. Higher CAFE standards can be achieved using existing technology. Although the Big Three automakers have pledged to raise SUV fuel efficiency over the next few years, these improvements will yield a mere five percent gain in overall fuel economy. Their pledge indicates that improvements can be made, using conventional technologies. As was the case with airbags, a government mandate will be the most effective means of bringing about real change.

5. Higher CAFE standards can be achieved without sacrificing safety. Though the auto industry would like you to believe that fuel economy and safety are mutually exclusive, safety experts have found no correlation between the two. Over the last two decades, as fuel economy standards were increased, the rate of traffic fatalities per mile traveled fell by 50 percent. In fact, most of the improvements in fuel efficiency can be reached through more efficient powertrains, which would not affect the safety of the car.

Increasing CAFE standards by a few miles per gallon doesn’t begin to utilize the current automotive technology that can protect the environment and our economy. Please join us in taking a real step to protect our environment without sacrificing jobs. For more information or to cosponsor this legislation please call Amelia Jenkins or Ben Miller at x5-2095.

Sincerely,

GEORGE MILLER
ANNA ESHOO
Members of Congress