Senator Feinstein Calls on President and Automakers
to Promote Greater Fuel Efficiency
June 27, 2001

Washington, DC – In her ongoing fight for increased fuel efficiency, Senator Feinstein this week urged President George W. Bush to support her legislation to raise the fuel economy standards of the nation’s sport utility vehicles (SUV) and light trucks with that of passenger cars.

At the same time, Senator Feinstein urged five of the world’s leading automakers to voluntarily meet that same standard by raising the Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards (CAFÉ) of their SUVs and light duty vehicles.

Senators Feinstein and Olympia Snowe recently introduced legislation (S 804) to phase in incremental increases in fuel efficiency standards so that by 2007, SUVs and other light duty vehicles have to meet the same fuel economy standards that other passenger vehicles meet today.

In her letter to President Bush, Senator Feinstein wrote, “Your leadership on this issue is vital. Closing this loophole, which allows SUVs and other light duty trucks to meet less stringent fuel economy standards than other passenger vehicles, is the single easiest and most effective thing we can do to address global warming. I believe that this bill represents a reasonable compromise that is readily achievable by the automotive industry.”

In her letter to Ford, General Motors, Daimler-Chrysler, Honda and Toyota, Senator Feinstein wrote, “I know that you have committed to voluntarily increase fuel economy on your SUVs. I would like to ask that you consider going even further and promising to close the “SUV loophole” in your own fleet. As you are no doubt aware, closing the SUV loophole would save one million barrels of oil a day, reduce foreign imports of oil by 10%, prevent 240 million tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere each year, and save consumers hundreds of dollars at the pump.”

Copies of the letters from Senator Feinstein are available upon request.