Sen. Tom Carper (D) continues his protest against Scott Pruitt, the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency, after he staged a multi-hour floor debate contesting his confirmation last month.
Carper is among 12 U.S. senatorsurging the Trump Administration’s new environmental regulator to not reconsider the country’s fuel efficiency standards.
According to Reuters, Pruitt is expected to announce as early as next week a review of the Obama Administration’s rule for a car manufacturer's fleet to average more than 50 miles per gallon by 2025.
Delaware’s senior senator and 11 others say the fuel standards are critical to national security by reducing America’s reliance on oil from the Middle East.
They also note in the letter that car companies continue to thrive under the current regulations, having added 700,000 jobs since the standards were enacted in 2009 and reached record high sales last year.
An auto manufacturers group sent its own letter to Pruitt saying the rules “threaten to depress” the industry with burdensome regulations.
No conventional vehicles - which make up nearly 97 percent of the new car market - currently meet the targeted standard.
