GOP Report Blasts White House Fuel Economy Plan

A report by Congressional Republicans claims the Obama administration's proposed fuel economy rules for 2017-2025 are unrealistic and biased in favor of domestic carmakers.

The standards, which the White House proposed a year ago and is expected to finalize on Wednesday, would require light vehicles to average 54.5 mpg by 2025 compared with about 28 mpg today.

But the disparaging report by GOP staffers for the House Oversight and Government Reform committee says the proposed standard would force American consumers into "expensive, unpopular and unsafe" vehicles.

The rule in its current form has been backed by environmentalists, the United Auto Workers union and most major carmakers doing business in the U.S. The White House has estimated that meeting the new standard will cost carmakers $157 billion but result in fuel economy improvements that would eventually save owners $1.7 trillion.

The critique says notes from meetings between White House representatives and carmakers reveal a "raw political process designed to appease environmental extremists." One goal of the discussions was to arrive at a single standard that would be acceptable to California and avoid having that state impose its own regulations on vehicles.

The report cites notes and e-mail messages in which executives from Daimler, Toyota and Volkswagen complain that the standard was structured to favor pickup trucks and SUVs models made primarily by American producers. Daimler and VW eventually decided not to support the White House proposal because it did not offer fuel economy credits for diesel-powered vehicles.