Washington, DC–As oil prices rise on geopolitical risks, efficient vehicles are more important than ever
The Senate Commerce Committee has released reconciliation language that would remove all financial penalties from fuel economy standards, which have been foundational to the nation’s energy security since the 1970’s. This program—originally enacted in response to the OPEC oil embargo—has saved trillions of gallons of gasoline over its lifetime and made our economy less oil intensive, today saving multiple millions of barrels of oil per day.
On the importance of the program and compliance enforcement, SAFE Founder and CEO Robbie Diamond gave the following statement:
“American consumers and businesses hate paying more for fuel, but that’s what this action achieves. Eliminating all efficiency rules for cars and trucks is not energy dominance…it’s ceding market share on the global oil market to Russia, Venezuela, and OPEC, while undoing the auto industry’s hard-fought gains on building advanced drivetrains on all sizes of vehicles.
True energy security is producing more oil and energy domestically and consuming less per dollar of GDP—which is why even Saudi Arabia has vehicle efficiency rules. Needlessly wasting one of our most precious resources, petroleum, is bad for consumers and businesses, and will only increase our balance of payments and make our auto industry less competitive. We urge the Senate to stop this disastrous rollback, that would bring us back to the energy policies of the 1970s.”
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About SAFE
SAFE is an action-oriented, nonpartisan organization committed to transportation, energy, and supply chain policies that advance the economic and national security of the United States, its partners, and allies. Since 2004, SAFE has worked with its Energy Security Leadership Council—a peerless coalition of current and former Fortune 500 CEOs and retired 4-star admirals and generals—to support secure, resilient, and responsible energy solutions. Learn more at SecureEnergy.org.
