WASHINGTON, DC - The Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA), today held a hearing examining the investment commitments attached to the recently approved Partial Consent Decree in the Volkswagen “Clean Diesel" settlement as well as the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) role in implementing the settlement’s terms.
Specifically, members questioned EPA officials regarding the $2 billion investment Volkswagen is required to make in Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) infrastructure, as well as the $2.7 billion to be paid into the NOx Mitigation Trust. The hearing builds upon letters sent by full committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Chairman Murphy in early November requesting information from EPA on the settlement implementation.
In his questioning, committee member Rep. Bill Flores (R-TX) asked EPA if any analysis has been done regarding the ZEV investment commitment, and what detailed analysis the agency did “to take a market that’s just starting and then to jam" a couple billion into it? Flores also inquired, “What detailed analysis did the EPA do to see what impact that would have on the market?" To which, Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator at the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance at the EPA said, “We did not do a detailed analysis." Rep. Flores then asked Assistant Administrator Giles, “My question is this. Doesn’t it make sense to rigorously study this important question before requiring a defendant accused of cheating customers and the U.S. government to flood a growing market with $2 billion of capital?"
Subcommittee Chairman Murphy questioned Assistant Administrator Giles regarding competitiveness in the ZEV infrastructure, stating, “Some have suggested that this could have a negative or anti-competitive effect on the existing ZEV infrastructure. Do you agree?"
“We are not here today to ask EPA to renegotiate the agreement, but now that it’s final, we need to understand how it will work, how it will affect businesses already in the zero-emission-vehicle marketplace and what EPA’s role is in administering this huge financial commitment," concluded Chairman Murphy. “VW betrayed the public trust with its cheating scandal. We are here today to ensure the agencies responsible for developing and agreeing to this deal will ensure the public interest is protected."
