Climate Change

A group of House Democrats is urging General Motors Co. and other leading automakers to join the four car manufacturers that have broken with the Trump administration and signed on to a deal with California to keep improving vehicle fuel economy. "It is obvious that the momentum, both domestic and international, is leading us toward cleaner and more efficient cars of the future," Rep. Doris Matsui of California and seven other lawmakers said in a letter sent today to 14 companies, including GM, Toyota Motor Corp. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV. "We urge all automakers to come to the table and work towards pragmatic solutions that will better protect the planet while preventing years of litigation and economic uncertainty." Matsui is a co-chair of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition; the other seven signers are also leaders. The new round of letters follows a similar series sent last week to the same automakers by 30 senators led by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)

Eight House Democrats are pushing automakers to join several fellow vehicle manufacturers in signing a deal with California that would sideline the Trump administration as it works to roll back fuel efficiency standards for vehicles. In a letter to 14 automakers on Wednesday, Democrats from the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition pleaded with them to join the deal, calling it “an important alternative to the administration's proposal to gut public health protections, reduce climate pollution, and create regulatory certainty for automakers.”

Eight senior House Democrats are asking 14 automakers to sign onto an agreement reached between California and four other major car companies last month to boost their average vehicle fuel efficiency to 50 miles per gallon by 2026. Their push, led by Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), follows a similar effort from 30 Senate Democrats last week and seeks to bring more automakers into the agreement, which serves as an alternative to the Trump administration's plan to freeze federal standards. The letter's other signatories included senior members of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition: Reps. Gerry Connolly (Va.), Donald McEachin (Va.), Chellie Pingree (Maine), Matt Cartwright (Pa.), Alan Lowenthal (Calif.) and Mike Quigley (Ill.). Matsui and Tonko are co-chairs of that group, along with Connolly.