Black Activists Support Trump Fuel Efficiency Plan in Public Comments

Washington, DC – Calling “excessive regulation… one of the most significant non-racial obstacles to black economic progress,” members of the Project 21 black leadership network filed public comments with the federal government supporting a halt to increasing Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for cars and light trucks.

Declaring the proposal to retain model year 2020 miles-per-gallon mandates through at least model year 2026 a “smart move,” Project 21 member Derrick Hollie wrote in a public comment submitted to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration that the proposal “promises more vehicles that people want to safely transport their families, engage opportunities and fuel the economy.” He added that it “respects the situations of the American consumer – particularly those at the lower rungs of the economic ladder.”

In August, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officially proposed a pause in fuel efficiency mandates enacted during the Obama Administration that would require a car and light truck fleet equivalent of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. The Trump Administration’s “Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficiency (SAFE) Vehicles Rule” will keep CAFE requirements at 37 miles-per-gallon through model year 2026. Public comments are a part of the federal rulemaking process.

Project 21 called for reducing or rescinding CAFE standards in its “Blueprint for a Better Deal for Black America,” a 57-point plan for reducing black poverty and promoting black upward mobility. The SAFE Vehicles Rule was deemed “Blueprint Compliant” and a benefit to the black community because it met the intent of the Blueprint’s recommendation.

In a joint public comment submitted to the EPA about the SAFE Vehicles Rule, Project 21 Co-Chairman Horace Cooper, Council Nedd II and Stacy Washington wrote:

We’ve seen the increase in vehicle prices since 2009 – which was greater than other durable goods. Because the price increases hit all Americans equally irrespective of their ability to pay, CAFE regulations have a disparate negative impact on the poor, a significant portion of whom are black.

We also recognize higher CAFE standards have a very significant negative impact on vehicle safety while even the proponents of climate change regulation acknowledge that they will provide only a trivial moderation of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

Increasing black hardship and placing drivers’ safety at greater risk for such a small payoff is simply irrational.

Project 21’s public comments can be found here and here.

In June, Project 21’s leadership sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao and then-EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to similarly show its support for the initial announcement of the government’s intent to reform CAFE mandates.

Project 21, a leading voice of black conservatives for over 25 years, is sponsored by the National Center for Public Policy Research. Its members have been quoted, interviewed or published over 40,000 times since the program was created in 1992. Contributions to the National Center are tax-deductible and greatly appreciated, and may be earmarked exclusively for the use of Project 21.

Founded in 1982, the National Center for Public Policy Research is a non-partisan, free-market, independent conservative think-tank. Ninety-four percent of its support comes from some 60,000 individuals, less than four percent from foundations and less than two percent from corporations.  Sign up for email updates here.

Follow Project 21 on Twitter at @Project21News for general announcements. To be alerted to upcoming media appearances by Project 21 members, follow our media appearances Twitter account at @NCPPRMedia.

-30-



The National Center for Public Policy Research is a communications and research foundation supportive of a strong national defense and dedicated to providing free market solutions to today’s public policy problems. We believe that the principles of a free market, individual liberty and personal responsibility provide the greatest hope for meeting the challenges facing America in the 21st century.