North Michigan News

Representative Jack Bergman (R-MI) has joined forces with U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ted Cruz (R-TX), U.S. Representative Tim Walberg (R-MI), and 120 colleagues to oppose the Biden Administration's proposed Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for passenger cars and light-duty trucks. In a letter addressed to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Deputy Administrator Sophie Shulman, the lawmakers are calling for the withdrawal of these standards.

The proposed standards aim to double the average fleet-wide fuel economy in less than 10 years, effectively mandating the mass production of electric vehicles (EVs) and phasing out gas-powered cars and trucks. Representative Bergman and his colleagues argue that these standards do not comply with federal law and infringe on the freedom of choice for American consumers.

"We write to express our deep concern with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's proposed Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for passenger cars and light trucks, which represent yet another attempt by this Administration to use the rulemaking process to impose its climate agenda on American families," the lawmakers expressed in their letter.

They further highlight that the NHTSA's proposed standards, in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) extreme tailpipe emissions proposal, essentially mandate the adoption of EVs. This, according to the lawmakers, would raise costs, limit consumer choice, harm U.S. businesses, compromise national security, and hand over the automotive industry to foreign adversaries, particularly China.

"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," the lawmakers asserted. They strongly urge the NHTSA to abandon their central planning approach and instead craft a proposal that complies with the law and better serves the American people.

The full letter can be read here.

This alliance of lawmakers is united in their opposition to the Biden Administration's proposed CAFE standards, arguing that it goes against federal law and restricts consumer choice. They are urging the NHTSA to reconsider these standards and develop a more realistic and workable proposal.