"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.”
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN, Texas (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), along with U.S. Representative Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) led a bipartisan, bicameral coalition of their colleagues in sending a letter calling on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Deputy Administrator, Sophie Shulman, to rescind the Biden Administration’s proposed Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for passenger cars and light-duty trucks. The proposed standards, that do not comply with federal law, would require automakers to more than double the average fleet-wide fuel economy in less than ten years. This effort would effectively phase out gas-powered vehicles and mandate the mass production of electric vehicles.
In the letter, the senators wrote, “NHTSA’s proposed 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 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.”
Read the full text of the letter here.
BACKGROUND:
- Sen. Cruz sent a letter to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) urging Congressional leadership to defund the Biden administration’s electric vehicle (EV) rule, which requires vehicles to be fully electric by 2032.
- Sen. Cruz introduced the Choice in Automobile Retail Sales (CARS) Act to counter the Biden administration’s executive overreach banning gasoline powered vehicles and establishing an electric vehicle mandate. The bill prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from finalizing, implementing, or enforcing its rule that would limit what cars and trucks Texans can buy under the pretext of emissions reductions.
- As the ranking member on the Senate Commerce Committee, Sen. Cruz released a statement after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released their Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for model years 2027-2032.
- In May of 2023, Sen. Cruz sent a letter urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, Michael Regan, to withdraw recently announced emissions standards on American-made vehicles, including both light-duty cars and heavy-duty trucks.
- As the ranking member on the Senate Commerce Committee, Sen. Cruz sent a letter highlighting serious concerns regarding President Biden’s nominee to lead the National Highway Transportation (NHTSA), Ann Carlson, and her past record of promoting green energy mandates for the automobile industry.
- In April of 2023, Sen. Cruz introduced the Directing Independent Research To Yield Carbon Assessment Regarding Electric Vehicles (DIRTY CAR EV) Act, which requires the Comptroller of the United States, the Secretary of Energy, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to coordinate a study on the carbon footprint of electric vehicles and research the ramifications of widespread electric vehicle use on the country’s electrical grids.
