WASHINGTON – President Trump is expected to announce plans to undo an Obama midnight regulation and to review and revise the fuel economy mandates for model years 2022 through 2025 as originally planned. IER President Thomas Pyle issued the following statement:
“With today’s announcement, President Trump is once again following through on his promises to help working-class Americans. For many, car ownership is essential to their daily lives, but excessive fuel mandates make it increasingly difficult for millions of Americans to afford a car.
“According to some estimates, new vehicles already cost over $6,000 more than they would have without the previous administration’s mandates in place. That number will undoubtedly rise if the mandates for 2022-2025 go into effect. Fortunately, the Trump administration’s decision to review and revise these mandates will help protect Americans from rising vehicle costs.
“While Americans value fuel economy, they also care about safety, affordability, size, and many other features. Heavy-handed fuel economy mandates ignore these other considerations and ultimately limit Americans’ choices when buying a car. Americans should be able to choose the vehicle that best fits their lifestyle instead of having Washington bureaucrats dictate what cars they can and cannot buy.
“We applaud the Trump administration for taking a crucial step toward reopening the process to ensure that fuel economy mandates are more in line with the needs of American families. The green lobby and former Obama appointees will cry rollback, but the public knows that Obama once again abused his authority by fast-tracking the review in the last hours of his presidency.”
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