WASHINGTON, DC - Subcommittee on Energy Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), Subcommittee on Environment Chairman John Shimkus (R-IL), and Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Chairman Bob Latta (R-OH), today issued the following statement after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a new final determination as part of the Mid-Term Evaluation process for model year 2022-2025 vehicle standards.
“While today’s announcement is far from a final rulemaking and actual changes to the standards, EPA’s determination reflects current realities and better mirrors what the car-buying public wants," said Upton, Shimkus, and Latta. “If automakers cannot produce the cars people want to buy at prices they can afford, that will quickly have an adverse impact on the auto industry, its workers, and even the environment as older, less-efficient cars will remain on our roadways. That is why we need reasonable and achievable improvements in fuel economy, and this determination is a step in the right direction."
Background: Under the Mid-Term Evaluation schedule, NHTSA and EPA were to jointly issue their respective determinations on the model year 2022-2025 standards by April of 2018. However, the Obama EPA abandoned this commitment and issued their own final determination seven days before President Trump was sworn into office. In March of 2017, Trump’s EPA announced they would revisit the previous administration’s determination and make its own determination by April 2018.
