|
 |
 |
|
Issa requests documents in fuel economy standards investigation
The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman has requested a slew of documents from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation about increased fuel economy standards being enforced by the Obama administration.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) wrote letters Friday to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood expressing his concern with the fuel efficiency standards, which call for cars getting 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025.
"I have been following with careful scrutiny the actions of the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate greenhouse gasses, pursuant to the decision rendered in Massachusetts v EPA," he wrote in a letter to Jackson that was obtained Friday by The Hill. "As you are aware, the last Congress did not enact cap-and-trade legislation, which would have given the administration explicit authority to regulate GHGs. In this Congress, a cap-and-trade bill has not been reconsidered."
"It has come to my attention that the new Corporate Average Fuel Economy and EPA vehicle greenhouse gas standards announced by President Obama and automobile manufacturers on July 29, 2011 were negotiated in secret, outside the scope of law and could generate significant negative impacts for consumers," he wrote. "I am concerned about the negative impact these standards could have on the safety of automobiles, the possibility that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration acted outside the scope of congressionally delegated authority, and the lack of transparency in the process leading up to the agreement."
Issa previously wrote letters to automakers asking for information about their interactions with the Obama administration, saying to them in July “I am concerned about the agreement's lack of transparency, the failure to conduct an open rulemaking process, as well as the potential for vehicle cost increases on consumers and negative impact on American jobs.”
The carbon emissions exchanging, or cap-and-trade, proposal that had been sought by environmentalists was approved by the House of Representatives in 2009, but it was never approved by the Senate.
Many observers attributed losses of vulnerable Democrats in coal-reliant states like West Virginia in the 2010 elections that saw Republicans regain control of the House to the cap-and-trade vote.
