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A bipartisan group of House lawmakers on Monday asked President Obama to toughen proposed auto fuel-efficiency standards beyond those the Bush administration proposed in last year's corporate fuel economy (CAFE) rule.


More than 80 Democratic and Republican House members signed a letter to Obama that asks the new administration to incorporate "realistic assumptions" into its math as it reviews the Bush administration fuel-efficiency plan.


The letter written by Representatives Ed Markey (D-Mass) and Todd Russell Platts (R, Pa.) says that the Bush CAFE proposal was "based on a systemic overestimation of the costs of implementing fuel efficient technologies and a systemic underestimation of its benefits."






The letter criticizes the Bush administration's optimistic belief that gasoline prices would average just $2.42 per gallon in 2016 and would only rise to $2.51 in 2030. It also questions the Bush administration's willingness to accept at face value the automobile industry's estimates of the cost of  developing new fuel efficiency technology.


We've said it before, but it bears repeating: CAFE is a necessary evil in that it forces automakers to improve fuel-efficiency. But car companies can pay relatively modest fines and ignore the standards. We'd rather see Uncle Sam using market forces, in the form of fuel taxes or fuel economy-based registration fees, to encourage consumers to demand fuel-efficient models.


That strategy would more quickly get the nation to where it wants to go when it comes to fuel economy and cleaner tailpipe emissions.


But Washington hates the idea of new taxes and fees and instead seems to be setting the stage for tougher CAFE numbers -- which we'll pay for anyhow, in the form of higher prices for CAFE-compliant vehicles.
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Tags: Courts, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Tax Incentives, CAFE Standards, Fuel Economy, Tailpipe Emissions

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Support for Tougher Fuel Economy Standard Is Growing in Congress was originally published by Green Car Advisor. Read the full story by clicking here.