From the Office of Senator Kerry

Wednesday, March 13, 2002

Mr. President, the Levin-Bond amendment and industry's effort to again block an increase in the CAFÉ standards is little more than misinformation and delay - it's the artful dodge and the great escape.

Just consider some of what we've heard:The industry says that raising CAFÉ standards will eliminate SUVs, minivans and pickup trucks. That is absolutely false according to the National Academy of Sciences.

They say raising CAFÉ standards will harm safety. That is absolutely false. The NAS has made clear that we can raise CAFÉ and make safe vehicles. And the two leading auto safety organizations in the country --- Public Citizen and the Center for Auto Safety --- have endorsed an increase. Are there any safety provisions in Levin-Bond? No. In fact, Levin-Bond strikes the safety provisions in the bill. Have any safety advocates endorsed Levin-Bond. No. Who has endorsed Levin-Bond? The auto companies, who are the leading opponents of new safety measures. What a surprise?

They say the problem is that CAFÉ is unfair to the Big 3. But that can be fixed by ending the fleet average system and using an attribute-based system that would allow any manufacturer to build any type of vehicle they choose, provided it met the target for that class of vehicle. Guess what? Despite all this talk about CAFÉ being unfair, there is nothing in the Levin-Bond proposal that changes the fundamental structure of the program. Why? Because the auto companies don't want it. This entire argument about fairness is just part of the dodge. It's all about giving the Bush Administration a blank check and avoiding any real reform

They say it's about jobs. But the NAS concluded that jobs in the U.S. auto industry have been determined by general economic conditions, globalization and other factors, and not CAFÉ. This jobs argument is just another way to scare American workers and bully us into inaction. The Big 3 can and should lead the world in building reliable, safe and efficient vehicles. I don't believe our workers or our companies should take a back seat to anyone, but industry would rather stand pat with the status quo.

Most important, the Levin-Bond proposal is about delay --- and delay means doing nothing.

Here is where we find ourselves: the CAFÉ standard has not changed for 16 years. Why? Because when Reagan was in the White House, the industry argued CAFÉ is the Administration's responsibility and the Administration did nothing. When Bush One was in the White House, the industry argued CAFE is the Administration's responsibility and Administration did nothing. When Bill Clinton was in the White House, the industry argued CAFÉ is the responsibility of Congress and Congress blocked even the study of CAFÉ. And here we are in 2002, President George Bush is in the White House, the Senate is considering raising CAFÉ, and, lo and behold, the industry is back where it started, telling us CAFÉ is the Administration's responsibility.

The truth is that the industry couldn't care less about process. All they care about is getting a low number or no number. That is why they tell the Senate we're incapable of setting a CAFÉ number, but they endorse the CAFÉ provision in the House energy bill, which picks a number. It just happens to be so low its meaningless.

The result is that after 16 years the CAFÉ number has not changed and every new fleet of vehicles is less efficient than the last. It comes down to this: How many times will this Senate be fooled by this industry? Has 16 years been enough? Or are we going to once again bend to its wishes?

I hope not. I urge my colleagues to oppose Levin-Bond and support CAFÉ reform. The Senate can do better. We can save oil, reduce pollution, protect jobs and build the vehicles America wants.