Now comes the claim that President Obama basically strong-armed automakers into providing more fuel-efficient vehicles.
California Congressman Darrell Issa, (R-Calif), no stranger to headline-making charges, says Emperor Obama and his âczarsâ had defenseless General Motors and Chrysler by the throat and used that grip to squeeze the fuel efficiency concessions out of them. His charge comes with a new report from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Issa is its chairman.
âWhile the Obama Administration has told the public and Congress it followed the statutory rulemaking process in developing these regulations,â says an Issa report, âmaterial produced by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform documents how the Administration under an imperial presidency performed an end-run around the law and ran a White House-based political negotiation, led by âczarsâ who marginalized federal agencies charged in statute with setting fuel economy standards.
âRegulatory expertise from Department of Transportation officials, the agency charged with protecting automotive safety, were frequently mocked and belittled.
This, says Issa, places ideology over science and politics over process. And, he adds, it has serious consequences for consumers in the choice, cost, and safety of vehicles. The fuel standards (CAFĂ or Corporate Average Fuel Economy) call for cars to get 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025.
Democrats replied that not only is such fuel economy a good thing for the American public (and surely auto makers want to be more efficient anyway), and check out those car companies and see how they have survived and thrived.
Check out the Committee report.
