House Republicans Ask For Delay on Fuel Economy

It's hard to say why the Republican officials are asking for the delay, although Kelly is an auto dealer, and his store's sales could be negatively impacted.

T

hree top House Republicans are asking the White House to put the brakes on fuel-economy standards that are supposed to take effect in 2017.

Representatives Darrell Issa (Ca.), Mike Kelly (Pa.), and Jim Jordan (Pa.), are asking President Obama to delay the new regulations indefinitely, pending further review. It appears that they're doing so because the government is predicting that the new rules could raise the price of a new car by an average of $2,000 by 2025.

House Representitive Darrell Issa (R-Ca.)

The new rules are expected to cost the government $157.3 billion to achieve but also projected to save customers $1.7 trillion in fuel costs.

Last summer, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the California Air Resources Board (CARB), met with automakers to hash out some of the final numbers, with the agencies agreeing to lower the annual increases in fleet-average miles per gallon that will occur each year from 2017-2012--which are currently set at annual increases of 3.5 percent on light trucks and 5 percent on cars. They also worked out a midterm review to make sure that the mpg numbers are not impossible for automakers to reach during the final years of the agreement, and California agreed to abide by the standards and not bring its own.

The newest fuel-economy regulations could be released at any time in the coming weeks, but it's hard to say when they will for sure, although NHTSA officials and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood are saying it will be sooner rather than later.

New fuel-economy regulations are on the way.

What this means for consumers is unclear. If new fuel-economy regulations significantly up the average price for new cars, customers might find themselves paying a higher sticker price as manufacturers pass on the costs of fuel-saving technology to consumers at the point of purchase, but on the other hand, car buyers might save in the long run if cars produce higher-mileage numbers over time.

It's hard to say why the Republican officials are asking for the delay, although Kelly is an auto dealer, and his store's sales could be negatively impacted.

Issa did write, "Higher fuel efficiency standards is a goal I share—but not at the expense of consumer safety and not when those rules are implemented under a cloak of secrecy in a manner outside the law. The process followed by Obama administration officials to develop these standards was politicized, not rooted in sound science and was a political end run around seasoned experts who are required by law to lead the process," so perhaps this is yet another election-year pot-shot. The Republicans likely are speaking up now because the rules appear close to implementation.

Thirteen major automakers—all but Volkswagen and Daimler—agreed with the government on a framework for the rules last year (the exact numbers are unclear), so it's likely the final rule will be close to that framework.

[Sources: Autoblog, Detroit News]