American Energy Alliance 1155 15th Street NW, Suite 900

Washington, DC 20005

April 6, 2020

The Honorable Donald J. Trump President of the United States The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We write you to express our support for the Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule. This joint Department of Transportation (DOT) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rulemaking will reform the federal fuel mandates known as the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program.

The problems with the program are numerous and have only been compounded over its 40-year history. The fuel economy mandate has imposed a needless cost on car buyers of around $4,000 per vehicle and the previous administration’s plan would have cost car buyers more than $7,000 b y 2025.

To meet the mandate, automakers often have sold smaller, less desirable cars at a discount, while increasing prices on larger, more popular cars, crossovers, SUVs, and trucks. Today, the average transaction price for light vehicles in the United States is approaching $39,000.

Absent this tough but fair rule, are the previous administration’s CAFE mandate would have made this problem even worse. Thus shifting burdens onto families with needs or preferences for larger vehicles. Such families not only include those with children, but also those with individuals having mobility challenges. Those families and individuals who prefer or need trucks, SUVs, and crossovers pay more to subsidize those who buy smaller vehicles or electric vehicles under the existing mandate. This significant, needless, and unjust cost is a very real regressive tax on American families that has made our country worse off.

The existing unworkable mandate has also pushed people toward cars that are less safe. The cost increases on new vehicles inflicted by CAFE keep families in older, less safe, less reliable vehicles longer. While we would have preferred an even greater reduction or even the elimination of the mandate altogether, the right-sizing of this mandate to a 1.5-percent annual increase in fuel economy from an onerous 5 percent will improve the vehicle market on all fronts and restore the decision about the types of cars people can buy to consumers and the auto industry.

The new rule is projected to save Americans $1,400 over the life of a new vehicle. More importantly, it will reduce collision fatalities by more than 3,300 annually and it will reduce hospitalizations by tens of thousands. This rule gives consumers a chance to have newer, safer, and more affordable vehicles.

It should also be noted that the reform is a floor, not a cap. Automakers are free to manufacture and consumers are free to buy vehicles with greater fuel efficiency if so desired.

The fundamental question on the CAFE mandate is clear: who should decide which cars and trucks are on the road, families or bureaucrats in Sacramento and Washington? This plan empowers consumers and car buyers.

Sincerely,

Thomas J. Pyle

American Energy Alliance

Bethany Marcum Alaska Policy Forum

Lisa B. Nelson

American Legislative Exchange Council

Michael Bowman ALEC Action

Phil Kerpen

American Commitment

Rick Manning

Americans for Limited Government

Brent Wm. Gardner Americans for Prosperity

Grover Norquist Americans for Tax Reform

Jim Waters Bluegrass Institute

David T. Stevenson Caesar Rodney Institute

Norman Singleton Campaign for Liberty

Matthew Kandrach

Consumer Action for a Strong Economy

Ryan Ellis

Center for a Free Economy

Andrew F. Quinlan

Center for Freedom and Prosperity

Jeffrey Mazzella

Center for Individual Freedom

Isaac Orr

Center of the American Experiment

Leo Knepper

Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania

Chip Ford

Citizens for Limited Taxation

Mark Mathis

Clear Energy Alliance

Craig Rucker

Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow

Myron Ebell

Competitive Enterprise Institute

Craig Richardson E&E Legal Institute

Robert Roper

Ethan Allen Institute

Timothy Head

Faith & Freedom Coalition

Annette Meeks

Freedom Foundation of Minnesota

Adam Brandon FreedomWorks

George Landrith Frontiers of Freedom

James Taylor Heartland Institute

Jessica Anderson

Heritage Action for America

Mario H. Lopez

Hispanic Leadership Fund

Fred Birnbaum

Idaho Freedom Foundation

Andrew Langer Institute for Liberty

Vinnie Vernuccio

Institute for the American Worker

Hector Barreto

The Latino Coalition

Seton Motley Less Government

Jason Isaac Life:Powered

Brett Healy

MacIver Institute for Public Policy

Jason Hayes

Mackinac Center for Public Policy

Laurie Belsito

Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance

Harry Alford

National Black Chamber of Commerce

Joshua H. Crawford Pegasus Institute

Daniel Erspamer Pelican Institute

Horace Cooper Project 21

Derrick Hollie Reaching America

Mike Stenhouse

Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity

Paul J. Gessing

Rio Grande Foundation

David Williams

Taxpayers Protection Alliance

Kevin Roberts

Texas Public Policy Foundation