Americans for Tax Reform applauds the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for their newly proposed rule that would freeze fuel economy standards at 2020 levels. The proposal retracts the Obama administration’s decision to allow California to impose their own regulations on automobile emissions, which effectively ensured national standards are tied to California’s environmental agenda.
The Trump administration’s proposal corrects the Obama-era regulation which abandoned the formal rule making process in a midnight regulatory push meant to solidify unreasonable fuel-efficiency standards on cars and light-duty trucks. The Obama administration even failed to consult the Office of Management and Budget as is required. Trump’s EPA and DOT have rightly halted such abuses and are moving forward with a public comment period. The proposal’s end goal is establishing a single national CAFE standard that improves vehicle safety and reduces costs on consumers.
Washington bureaucrats shouldn’t have the power to decide what kind of car Americans can drive. By limiting the types of automobiles on the market, Obama’s CAFE standards significantly raise prices by forcing automakers to manufacture expensive automobiles that consumers do not want to purchase.
A study conducted by the Heritage Foundation concluded that the Obama CAFE standards are adding at least $3,800 to the average cost of a new car. In their current form, the fuel-efficiency standards simply leave too many Americans priced out from owning the vehicle they want. Consumers will benefit greatly from the Trump administration’s proposal. According to the EPA’s press release, the new proposal’s plan to freeze standards at 2020 levels will save $2,340 to the average cost of owning a new car.
ATR strongly supports the Trump administration’s correction of the fuel economy standards and applauds this effort to protect consumers from one of the most overreaching regulations of the Obama administration.