Cantwell Praises Transportation Department’s Rollback of Trump Rule Limiting States’ Rights to Enact Own Vehicle Standards

Previews upcoming Senate Commerce Committee hearing on modernizing the national fuel economy program

April 22, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, released the below statement regarding the Department of Transportation’s action freeing states to raise standards for the fuel efficiency of vehicles:

“I commend the Department of Transportation for restoring the rights of states like California and Washington to combat air pollution and save drivers thousands of dollars by enacting their own vehicle standards. As the Inspector General report released this week found, the Trump Administration’s efforts to rollback consensus vehicle efficiency rules purposefully distorted the science that confirmed the benefits of these standards. Next month, the Senate Commerce Committee will consider ways to modernize the national fuel economy program so America leads the world in manufacturing and selling the next generation of automobiles.”

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