[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 20 (Monday, February 24, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1482-S1483]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             CAFE STANDARDS

 Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, I rise today to speak once again 
on the matter of corporate average fuel economy

[[Page S1483]]

standards. Recently, a number of colleagues from both sides of the 
aisle joined with me to introduce Senate bill 286, legislation to 
freeze CAFE standards at current levels unless changed by Congress.
  There are a host of reasons why this legislation should be adopted, 
Mr. President. Chief among these: CAFE standards should be frozen so 
that we may put a stop to the highly inappropriate practice of allowing 
unelected bureaucrats to set far-reaching policies that have 
significant effects on the safety and economic well-being of the 
American people. I believe that such responsibility should lie with 
this legislature, the body entrusted by our Constitution with the duty 
to determine whether any proposed policy change is in the best 
interests of the American people.
  Mr. President, in today's Washington Times commentary section, Bruce 
Bartlett, a senior fellow with the National Center for Policy Analysis, 
outlines several serious problems with increased CAFE standards. Mr. 
Bartlett's article illustrates clearly the need for Congress to regain 
control of CAFE standards and I ask that this article be printed in the 
Record.
  The article follows:

               [From the Washington Times, Feb. 24, 1997]

                     Hidden Costs of the CAFE Caper

                          (By Bruce Bartlett)

       In 1975, at the height of the energy crisis, Congress 
     passed legislation mandating auto manufacturers to meet 
     corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards. Each auto 
     company was expected to ensure that the average fuel 
     efficiency for all its new car sales would be at least 18 mpg 
     by 1978. The standard was raised in steps to 27.5 mpg by 
     1990, where it remains currently. However, the Clinton 
     administration has signaled a desire to raise the CAFE 
     standard, despite mounting evidence that the whole program 
     has been a failure.
       The biggest problem with CAFE is that there is virtually no 
     evidence it has reduced aggregate gasoline consumption. It is 
     true that auto fuel efficiency has risen 70 percent since 
     1973, from 13.3 mpg on average to 22.56 mpg in 1995. However, 
     as the figure indicates, the higher fuel efficiency has 
     simply encouraged people to drive more. The average number of 
     miles driven per year has risen 24 percent since 1980, from 
     9,141 miles to 11,329 in 1995. Thus, even though the average 
     use now uses just 502 gallons of gasoline per year, compared 
     to 771 gallons in 1973, total fuel consumption has continued 
     to rise.
       Another problem with CAFE is that it has led to a loss of 
     auto jobs in the U.S. The reason is that there are separate 
     CAFE standards for domestic and imported autos. This has 
     encouraged domestic auto companies to increase the percentage 
     of foreign parts used in some of their models in order to 
     reclassify them as foreign-made. For example, in 1989 Ford 
     turned two of its least fuel efficiency cars, the Crown 
     Victoria and the Grand Marquis, into ``imported'' cars by 
     reducing their domestic content from 90 percent to less than 
     75 percent. This allowed Ford to increase the average fuel 
     economy of its domestically produced cars, where it was 
     having a problem meeting the new CAFE standard, while 
     lowering the average for its imported models, where it had 
     room to spare.
       Finally, there is growing evidence that CAFE has been 
     detrimental to safety. To increase fuel efficiency, auto 
     companies have had to produce smaller, lighter cars that are 
     less safe than larger, heavier cars. And auto companies have 
     often had to heavily discount these smaller models in order 
     to increase their sales and lower their average corporate 
     fuel economy. Thus a 1989 study estimated that CAFE standards 
     would cost 2,200 to 3,900 lives over the next 10 years.
       Virtually all economists agree that higher gasoline taxes 
     would do a far better job of reducing gasoline consumption 
     than CAFE--assuming there is any real need to do so. At a 
     minimum, there should be no further increase in CAFE 
     standards.

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