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Statement of Administration Policy: S. 1224 - Motor Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Act of 1990

September 10, 1990

STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY

(Senate)
(Bryan (D) Nevada and 14 others)

The Administration strongly opposes enactment of S. 1224. If S. 1224 were presented to the President, his senior advisors would recommend a veto.

S. 1224 would require each motor vehicle manufacturer to increase the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) level it achieved in 1988 by 20 percent in model year (MY) 1995 and by 40 percent in MY 2001 for cars and light trucks. This would:

—  require major reductions in vehicle size and weight, which would increase the risks of deaths and injuries to drivers and passengers in automobile crashes. (Department of Transportation studies clearly demonstrate that significant weight and size reductions increase the risk of highway injuries and fatalities.);

—  impose costs on automobile owners which are not likely to be offset by fuel savings;

—  achieve fuel consumption reductions more slowly (since higher vehicle costs would cause some consumers to keep their older, less efficient vehicles) and less substantially (since purchasers of very fuel-efficient vehicles tend to drive them more than the vehicles they replace) than a simple projection of CAFE levels would suggest; and

—  be unattainable without significant and costly restrictions on consumer choice.

Approaches grounded in market incentives, rather than the rigid requirements S. 1224 would impose, would be more effective in addressing energy, environmental, and other concerns related to the levels of fuel use.

George Bush, Statement of Administration Policy: S. 1224 - Motor Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Act of 1990 Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/329094

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