Today, as millions of Americans hit the road to spend time with relatives over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin called for long term relief from high gas prices, by increasing fuel efficiency standards.

“With prices over $2.00 a gallon and home heating costs soaring, families are getting squeezed,” Baldwin said. “One way to provide relief is to increase the efficiency of vehicles. Reducing the cost and frequency of filling the gas tank will directly benefit consumers.”

Baldwin’s remarks came as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today formally closed the public comment period on a proposed rule regarding the fuel economy of light trucks, which include SUVs, mini-vans, and pickup trucks. Those proposed rules would provide a small increase of 1.8 miles per gallon in fuel economy, but would exempt many of the least efficient vehicles.

Recently, Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin led a Congressional effort to encourage Department of Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, to raise the fleet-wide fuel economy standards by more than 1.8 mpg and to apply the new rules to all vehicles.

“Technology exists today that allows vehicles to obtain much better mileage,” Baldwin said. “We need to encourage increased production of fuel efficient vehicles, including those using the newest technologies. American ingenuity has shown time and time again that it is possible to solve our nation’s most pressing problems. I believe making higher fuel economy standards attainable – without compromising the safety of passengers – is one such challenge.”