RE: Support H.R. 3762 to improve our national, economic and environmental security

Dear Representative ,

I strongly urge you to support H.R. 3762, bipartisan legislation that by raising Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards will tremendously improve our national, economic and environmental security.

Rising fuel prices at the pump are affecting how and where we travel and the price of groceries and other goods we buy that are transported from far away. However, the high fuel prices are merely a symptom of a more harmful disease—U.S. oil addiction. The price of our addiction is far greater than the price we pay at the pump. The full price also includes the cost of war; the costs of deploying U.S. military forces in the Persian Gulf and elsewhere to protect the oil sea lanes; the domestic, environmental, and public health costs due to air pollution from internal combustion engines; and the as yet untold costs of potentially harmful climate change due to the burning of fossil fuels. That’s too high a price.

It's time to kick this costly, dangerous, unhealthy habit. Increasing CAFE standards for new vehicles is a proven way to help do this. Thanks to the standards Congress set during the oil crisis in 1975, the National Research Council estimates that today the U.S. is consuming about 2.8 million barrels of oil per day less than it would be consuming without the standards. Today, with existing, affordable technology, the U.S. could reduce its oil dependence much more.

H.R. 3762 is a step in the right direction, setting new standards of 33 miles per gallon (mpg) by 2016, up from the current 27.5 mpg average for passenger cars. Increasing CAFE standards to 33 mpg will reduce demand by 1.4 million barrels per day by 2020, save consumers $55 billion per year at the gas pump, create more jobs, and reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 244 million metric tons per year.

Although I strongly urge you to support H.R. 3762, I am concerned that this legislation does not go far enough soon enough given the many deepening security, economic, and environmental challenges posed by U.S. oil dependence. The European Union has set a goal of over 44 mpg by 2008 for new vehicles, including light trucks, up from 37 mpg in 2002; and Japan has set a goal of 48 mpg by 2010, up from 46 mpg in 2002. If the Europeans and Japanese can accomplish these goals, Americans can too. So I urge that while you support this important legislation, you also demand that, for the sake of our future security, we raise the bar and increase CAFE standards even further.

The final step is to boost transit investments. The use of public transportation now saves us almost 125,000 barrels of oil a day. But if we increased reliance on public transportation to the level of Canada, we would save more oil than we import from Saudi Arabia every six months.

We do not need to wait for technological breakthroughs, invest billions in research and development or embark on a massive infrastructure change to make major strides to energy independence. The technology and know-how are waiting to be utilized. Please cosponsor S.2025 to protect our national security, our economy and our environment.

Most Sincerely,

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