Instead of focusing on rebuilding our nation’s crumbling transportation infrastructure, some in Congress are attempting to sneak provisions into a must-pass transportation bill that would weaken landmark vehicle efficiency standards. As negotiators from the House and Senate seek to produce a final bill, it is critical that they reject provisions that will lead to increased emissions and fuel use.
In 2012 the Obama administration finalized historic standards that, by 2025, will double the efficiency of our passenger cars and trucks, cutting carbon pollution and saving drivers money at the pump. These standards were supported by automakers, environmentalists, consumer advocates, and public health organizations. Now, Congressional negotiators are seeking to reach a deal on a bill that would fund our nation’s roads, bridges and transit systems for the next six years, but this threatens the historic vehicle efficiency safeguards recently put in place. Last week, seven leading environmental and science organizations sent a letter to Congressional negotiators detailing several provisions in the transportation bill that threaten these crucial standards.
Of the more than 100 amendments considered by the House of Representatives, one adopted amendment offered by Representative Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) would force the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to give natural gas vehicles “any preference or incentive” given to electric vehicles in any EPA regulation. Not only would this apply to future vehicle standards, but this outrageously broad provision would force the EPA to revise all existing safeguards to give manufacturers windfall incentives to produce natural gas vehicles. This natural gas giveaway ignores the latest science which shows that electric vehicles have much lower life-cycle emissions than natural gas vehicles.
Another adopted amendment, offered by Representative Michael Burgess (R-TX), would exempt small high-end automobile manufacturers from certain safety and environmental standards. Sacrificing national public health for the gain of a few wealthy automakers, under this amendment, small luxury automakers, such as Lamborghini and Lotus, would be allowed to install engines certified decades ago under the Clean Air Act, instead of the dramatically cleaner engines produced today.
Unfortunately, the final transportation bill won’t just be comprised of provisions that passed either the House or Senate. Some in Congress are trying to introduce new provisions altogether. One particularly troubling idea, proposed by the House Energy and Commerce committee, would let auto makers sell less efficient vehicles if they installed unrelated and already expected safety technologies. Included in a different draft bill, this provision would let automakers claim a credit of up to nine grams of carbon dioxide per mile for installing safety technologies that are already expected to be widely adopted, such as automatic braking. Put another way, those nine grams of carbon dioxide per mile would negate the average improvement vehicles made in the efficiency standard’s first year.This credit provision would create a truck-sized loophole that could eliminate up to 14 percent of the total fuel savings from the latest round of passenger vehicle standards.
Our landmark vehicle efficiency standards, set after years of talks with the auto industry, Congress, and other stakeholders, will significantly reduce carbon pollution, fuel consumption, and dollars spent at the pump. It is critical that Congress reject these attempts to sneak damaging provisions into the transportation bill that would weaken these crucial standards.