DOT Gets Go-Ahead for Passenger Car CAFE Standards

U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, made the following statement today during the full committee hearing entitled, “National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to Set Passenger Car Fuel Economy Standards.” “This committee print is the first of many steps that this committee intends to take to foster the goal of minimizing dependence of foreign sources of energy and, over time, make it possible to have energy independence in the United States of America. “In the wake of the 1973-74 Arab oil embargo, Congress passed the Energy Policy Conservation Act, which established corporate average fuel efficiency, known as CAFE, standards for passenger cars and light trucks sold in the United States. “Under the CAFE system, we’ve come a long way with our light truck fleet. The Department of Transportation took a major step forward in March, announcing a reformed CAFE program for light trucks. This new program will save the United States nearly 11 billion gallons of fuel over the lifetime of the vehicles sold between 2008 and 2011. “We can not say the same for passenger cars. In 1975, Congress set a goal of doubling fuel economy for passenger cars by 1985 to 27.5 […]

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