Senator Levin Statement on Anticipated Administration Announcement on Emissions Standards

May 18, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Senator Carl Levin, D-Mich., said the following today:

“The Administration’s anticipated announcement for joint EPA-DOT regulation of greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy contains two important elements that I have been fighting for over many years. First, it will establish a single national standard that will provide predictability and certainty for the auto companies in meeting regulations, which the industry apparently believes it can achieve over a realistic timeframe.

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"Second, it will ensure that these regulations are based upon size and other vehicle attributes and not based on the outdated fleet average system that is highly discriminatory against American manufacturers. We were able to achieve that new approach in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 and it has since been implemented by the Department of Transportation for model year 2011. It is the only fair way to regulate fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions.

“It should also be noted that the EPA authorities to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, which will be relied on at this time, are based on provisions of the Clean Air Act that direct the agency to regulate if it determines that greenhouse gas emissions can ‘reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health and welfare’ and not on other parts of the Clean Air Act.”

Source: Senator Carl Levin