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Senate Fuel Economy Vote
Sacrifices National Security to Special Interest
Pressure
WASHINGTON (March 13, 2002) -- Today the Senate took a
major step backward on energy by rejecting a proposal that
would have significantly increased fuel economy standards for
cars and SUVs. During debate on a pending energy bill the
Senate adopted, by a vote of 62 to 38, an amendment sponsored
by Senators Carl Levin (D-MI) and Kit Bond (R-MO) that
eliminated the fuel economy increase. Following is the
statement by Dr. Dan Lashof, science director of NRDC's
climate center, in response to the vote.
"Powerful special interests defeated America's best
opportunity to cut our dependence on foreign oil. Americans
have said again and again, in poll after poll, that they want
cleaner, more efficient cars and trucks. We have the
technology to build them. But Detroit says it can't, and trots
out the same overblown rhetoric that they used to fight
everything from turn signals to air bags."
"Even with national security at stake, the car companies
spent millions to stop progress in its tracks, putting profits
ahead of national interest. The fuel economy standard proposed
by Senators Kerry (D-Mass.) and McCain (R-Ariz.) would have
saved 2 million barrels of oil a day by 2020 -- more than we
now import from Saudi Arabia."
"Instead, the Levin-Bond amendment backed by industry and
passed today strips important safety standards from the energy
bill and sends fuel economy standards into a black hole. The
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is under the
command of a White House that opposes significant improvements
in fuel economy standards, and which will not deliver
them."
"The decision today cuts the heart out of the Senate energy
bill, and deals a blow to Americans' safety and security."
The Natural Resources Defense Council is a
national, non-profit organization of scientists, lawyers and
environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public
health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has more
than 500,000 members nationwide, served from offices in New
York, Washington, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Background
March 5, 2002, "Industry
Attempting to Cripple Senate Energy Bill"
Related NRDC Pages
Dangerous
Addiction: Ending America's Oil Dependence