23 Jan 2007 Citing Safety Concerns, National Center for Public Policy Research Calls on President Bush to Reconsider his Call to Increase Fuel Economy Standards

Washington, D.C. – The National Center for Public Policy Research calls on President Bush to reconsider his call for an increase in Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards, as he apparently called for in his State of the Union address.

In his State of the Union address, President Bush said:

“At the same time, we need to reform and modernize fuel economy standards for cars the way we did for light trucks – and conserve up to eight and a half billion more gallons of gasoline by 2017.”

“CAFE standards kill,” said Amy Ridenour, president of the National Center for Public Policy Research.  “In our view, the best way to ‘reform and modernize’ fuel economy standards is to eliminate them.  It is hypocritical, and to some, lethal, for a government that forbids drilling in ANWR to, in the name of energy independence, force families into vehicles that are less safe than they otherwise would be.”

“In a choice between saving gallons of gas or the lives of some of our fellow Americans,” said Ridenour, “we should choose their lives.”

For more information, please read “CAFE Standards Kill: Congress’ Regulatory Solution to Foreign Oil Dependence Comes at a Steep Price,” by Ryan Balis, or visit the National Center for Public Policy Research’s Fuel Economy information Center online at www.nationalcenter.org/CAFE.html.

The National Center for Public Policy Research is a non-partisan, non-profit educational foundation established in 1982 and based in Washington, D.C.