Smith Votes For, Gregg Votes Against Less-Stringent of Two Fuel Economy Standards Amendments That Passed Senate
WASHINGTON, March 14–Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) voted against an amendment to the energy bill on Wednesday that Sen. Bob Smith (R-NH) and the majority of his party helped pass, one that allows the Transportation Department – not lawmakers – to establish new fuel-economy standards over the next two years.
Smith was one of 43 Republicans who voted for the amendment sponsored by Carl Levin (D-MI) and Christopher Bond (R-MO) that the Senate adopted, 62-38.
After the amendment was adopted, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) withdrew a more stringent corporate average fuel-economy (CAFE) standards proposal that he had co-sponsored.
Kerry’s amendment received attention in the press and on the Senate floor because it would have increase by 50 percent the fuel-efficiency standards automakers must comply with for their fleets of cars and trucks. In the Senate on Wednesday, members opposed to the stricter amendment said it would curtail the availability of large, gas-guzzling cars and harm the automobile industry.
Proponents of Kerry’s amendment touted the environmental benefits the tougher CAFE standards would bring.
The stricter plan would have required automakers to produce vehicles that achieve a fleetwide average of 35 miles per gallon by 2015. Automakers now are required to build sedans that achieve an average of 27.5 miles per gallon and pickups, SUVs and minivans that average 20.7 miles.
Smith said that leaving discretion with the Transportation Department would “increase fuel-efficiency standards as well as help reduce our dependence on foreign oil without costing jobs, without putting safety at risk and without effectively eliminating SUVs and minivans as a consumer choice.”
Gregg did not return phone calls asking for comment on his vote against the Levin-Bond amendment. It is not clear if he would have voted for Kerry’s proposal had it come to a vote.
Published in The Union Leader, in Manchester, New Hampshire
