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1.1 Inherency
Congress initially set the passenger-car fuel economy standard in 1975 under President Gerald R. Ford,
with the expectation that automakers would meet it in 10 years. President Bill Clinton added 0.2 miles
per gallon to the requirement, but Congress then passed legislation starting in 1995 that blocked any
further increase.
2. Benefits
Back in 1975, Congress acted on the heels of the first oil shock—the Arab oil embargo. The United
States imported 35 percent of its oil that year, and it cost only $24.27 per barrel in 2007 dollars. Today
we import 66 percent of our oil at a cost of $90.54 per barrel.
So why have oil use and cost risen so exponentially? Average gasoline efficiency for cars and light
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Abolish/Lower CAFE Standards Matthew Hamilton, Eveready
trucks peaked at 22 miles per gallon in 1987, and has slowly declined to 20 miles per gallon since then.
Gasoline use rose significantly; even with much higher prices it’s up 13 percent since January 2001
alone. While average fuel economy stagnated, auto companies opposed efforts to strengthen CAFE standards. Instead of
employing existing technology to make cars go further on a gallon of gas, they turned their ingenuity toward adding luxury
features such as the infrared sensors on a Lexus that assess the body temperatures of the back-seat passengers to adjust the
air flow accordingly.
But what if the 1975 law was updated so that cars and light trucks were averaging 35 miles per gallon
today? According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, families on average would have used 160
gallons less gas this year per car for a total savings of $420 per car based on last year's average gasoline
price of $2.55 per gallon. This equals a total of $90 billion that would have been saved last year alone
in total lower gasoline costs, or 2.5 million barrels of oil a day—a 12 percent decrease. And what’s
more, there would have been 425 million metric tons less carbon dioxide pollution responsible for
global warming released into the atmosphere this year. This would be the equivalent of removing 60
million cars from the road.
The 1975 law[CAFE] dramatically increased fuel use by cars and light trucks (SUVs, minivans, et al)
from an average of 13 miles per gallon in 1975 to 22 miles per gallon in 1987, and U.S. oil
consumption dropped by 17 percent.
standard of 33 mpg was feasible and would not compromise passenger safety. But Bush has not pushed for such a change,
instead opting last month to increase fuel economy standards for light trucks by an average of just under 2 mpg over four years. That move will save about 10.7 billion gallons of
gas over two decades -- less than one month of current U.S. gasoline use.
3. Support
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Abolish/Lower CAFE Standards Matthew Hamilton, Eveready
Amid a growing public outcry over rising gasoline prices, several long-resistant lawmakers indicated
yesterday that they may consider raising fuel economy standards for passenger cars for the first time in
more than 30 years. Though it remains unclear whether Congress will actually force automakers to
produce more fuel-efficient fleets -- a company's car lineup must now average 27.5 miles per gallon,
while many advocates support making it 33 mpg for both cars and light trucks by 2015 -- several House
members who had opposed higher fuel economy requirements now say they back tougher standards.
"Reasonable CAFE standards are both achievable and valuable to a good energy policy," [Deleware
Representative Michael N.]Castle said. "And I don't think there's any doubt CAFE would have an
impact on the consumption of oil and gas in this country.
Bilirakis is not alone. GOP Reps. Michael N. Castle (Del.), John R. "Randy" Kuhl Jr. (N.Y.) and John
E. Sweeney (N.Y.) have all switched their stance and now back stricter federal requirements. Kuhl
changed his mind after he surveyed his constituents late last year: Of 4,000 respondents, 70 percent
supported more stringent CAFE standards.
4 Credentials
-Daniel J. Weiss
a Senior Fellow and the Director of Climate Strategy at American Progress, where he leads the Center's
clean energy and climate advocacy campaign. Before coming to American Progress, he spent 25 years
working with environmental advocacy organizations and political campaigns. Weiss is an expert in
energy and environmental policy; legislative strategy and tactics; and advocacy communications. Most
recently, he was a senior vice president with M+R Strategic Services, where he oversaw collaborative
campaign efforts by 15 major national environmental organizations working to oppose anti-
environmental legislation. This included field organizers, grassroots mobilization, earned and paid
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