Hill-Terry Bill to Boost CAFÉ
by
40%
By CAR lobbyist Jeremy Cottrell
Recently,
the Senate passed an aggressive set of CAFÉ regulations that would impose fuel
efficiency standards of 35 mpg without the adequate differentiation between
passenger vehicles and light trucks by 2020. This is viewed by NADA and industry
insiders as not only aggressive, but impossible.
Led by Energy and Commerce Chairman John Dingle (D-Mich) and sponsored by Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass), chairman of the new House Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, the legislation is intended to bring about drastic change to the manufacturer and retail sectors of the auto industry.
Markey stated, “I intend to proceed with a strategy to ensure that the House matches the Senate action and includes a strong fuel economy provision in our summer energy package”.
The response by NADA and the manufacturers was swift and massive as over 100 dealers flew to Washington D.C. to meet with their congressional representatives in order to convince them of a more plausible alternative, the Hill-Terry Bill (HR-2927). In direct response to the criticism that the Markey bill affords no reasonable standards, places many downtrodden domestic auto manufacturers in further financial peril, diminishes product mix at dealerships across the nation, and affects directly and indirectly millions of jobs in the marketplace, the Hill-Terry Bill seeks to address these important points of concern.
Baron Hill (D-Ind) and Lee Terry (R-Neb) introduced HR-2927 to provide aggressive but reasonable legislative change regarding CAFÉ standards. The bill would provide for a distinction between passenger cars and light trucks, complete with separate standards. The timeline of the legislation would be 2022, thus allowing a few more years for auto manufacturers to refine technologies in a cost effective manner.
Further, incentives are included to exceed CAFÉ standards by introducing a set of credits to be earned, used and traded. The Hill-Terry Bill also creates a domestic education fuel technology fund with penalty money imposed from non-compliance of CAFÉ standards. Flexible fuel credits would be extended to consumers until 2020 to encourage consumers to purchase new technology vehicles.
NADA President Phil Brady explains, “One thing is certain: Since the American economy is consumer-driven, harnessing consumer demand is essential for any plan to be effective. After all, it’s not just about technology. Nor is it just about mandated results”. Dealers echo that sentiment by citing the particular motivations of consumers to purchase vehicles including: vehicle size, safety features, passenger capacity, convenience, daily distance traveled, performance, hauling ability and cost of ownership.
Many also warn that any plan that does not address the 250 million cars currently on the road fails to adequately solve the intended results. If vehicle type and size mandated by the government fail to fulfill the particular needs of consumers, they will continue to keep older vehicles that typically pose a lower fuel efficiency and higher carbon detriment to the environment.
Currently, one vehicle out of twenty pollutes more than the other nineteen collectively. An admission of this widespread condition would begin to solve a perceived problem rather than simply treating a symptom or legislating popular “green” based bills.
After all, if the environmental problem is as grim as presented, steps by the United Nations should be taken to address those countries currently outpacing and on pace to outpace the United States in carbon emissions output. These include China, India, North Korea and Indonesia.
The CAFÉ
debate is far from over in Congress. You are encouraged to contact your
representative and urge his/her co-sponsorship and support for the Hill-Terry
Bill
(HR-2927).
District 1 - Diana DeGette (D), 202.225.4431
District 2 - Mark Udall (D), 202.225.2161
District 3 - John Salazar (D), 202.225.4761
District 4 - Marilyn Musgrave (R), 202.225.4676
District 5 - Doug Lamborn (R), 202.225.4422
District 6 - Tom Tancredo (R), 202.225.7882
District 7 - Ed Perlmutter (D), 202.225.2645