SEMA Action Network Legislative Alert: U.S. House May Consider Raising CAFE Standards

[Ed A. Stevens]

SEMA Action Network Legislative Alert: U.S. House May Consider Raising Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards
----- Original Message -----
From: Brian Caudill
To: Brian Caudill
Sent: Monday, April 07, 2003 12:24 PM
Subject: SEMA Action Network Legislative Alert: U.S. House May Consider Raising Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards


LEGISLATIVE ALERT

U.S. House May Consider Raising Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards

A few members of the U.S. House of Representatives may try to amend the House Energy Bill to increase CAFE standards from their current levels of 27.5 mpg for cars and 20.7 for light trucks (SUVs, pick-ups and minivans). We expect the House of Representatives to vote on this legislation as early as Wednesday, April 9th.

Phone, Fax or Email Your U.S. Congressman to Oppose Any Amendment to Raise CAFE Standards in the House Energy Bill

* CAFE Standards Are Already Rising: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has already mandated CAFE hikes of 1.5 mpg for light trucks/SUVs by model year 2007. Knowing this, the House Energy and Commerce Committee recently defeated a CAFE-increase amendment to the Energy bill by a vote of 38-14.

* Consumers Ultimately Determine CAFE: Vehicle manufacturers can produce ample supplies of petite, gas-sipping vehicles that will then sit on the dealer lot. CAFE is based on the real-world sales of vehicles desired by consumers.

* Consumer Choice: Large CAFE increases will limit consumer vehicle choice. In order to meet fuel economy targets, automakers will either have to eliminate certain vehicle lines or make popular cars, and light trucks smaller, less powerful, and less useful in terms of performance, comfort, and utility.

* Large CAFE Hikes Will Not Solve The Energy Crisis: Total gas consumption depends on many factors such as total vehicle miles traveled, the make-up of the overall vehicle fleet and the price of gasoline, NOT just new vehicle mileage standards.

* CAFE Does Not Clean The Air: A large CAFE increase will not improve air quality. Under clean air laws, emissions are controlled on a "gram-per-mile" basis, not "gram-per-gallon." Regardless of how much fuel is required to drive a mile, vehicles cannot emit more emissions than permitted under law.

Contact your U.S. Congressman to oppose any amendment to raise CAFE standards in the House Energy Bill. Unnecessarily hiking CAFE will limit consumer vehicle choice and represents an unfair government intrusion into the marketplace. To find out who your U.S. House Members are, call the SEMA Washington, D.C. office at 202-783-6007 ext. 39, or access this information via the Internet at http://www.enjoythedrive.com/legisla...egislator.asp.

For our records, please provide a copy of your letter to brianc@sema.org or send to the address or fax below.

SEMA Government Affairs
1317 F Street, NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20004
202-783-6024 (fax)