Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) joined over 100 bicameral colleagues calling on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to withdraw burdensome efficiency standards for cars and light-duty trucks. Their letter, led by Sens. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), is the latest effort to reel in the Biden administration’s heavy-handed approach to regulating gas-powered vehicles.
“NHTSA’s proposed Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, when coupled with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) distinct, extreme tailpipe emissions proposal, amount to a de facto mandate for electric vehicles (EVs) that threatens to raise costs and restrict consumer choice, harm U.S. businesses, degrade our energy and national security and hand the keys of our automotive industry over to our adversaries, especially China,” the lawmakers wrote.
“The proposal issued in July is mere virtue signaling for this Administration’s extreme climate agenda, but it would actually have only limited impact on emissions while strengthening foreign adversaries and harming American workers and consumers. We strongly urge NHTSA to drop its attempt at central planning and instead put forth a workable proposal that complies with the law and better serves the American people,” they continued.
The proposed CAFE standards would require automakers to increase their fleets’ fuel economies to an average of 58 miles per gallon by 2032. That’s up from the already-heightened 2024 average of 44 miles per gallon. This unrealistic shift stands to strain manufacturers, drive up car costs for consumers and weaken U.S. energy independence.
Read the full letter HERE.
