The change of course follows a recently announced delay of the new regulations, prompted at least in part by Republican Darrell Issa, California, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, who requested all e-mail correspondence that took place between the EPA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and automakers regarding the deal previously struck for new fuel economy regulations - according to The Detroit News.
Following Issa's inquiry into the manner in which the deal for the new regulations was struck, White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler told the representative that "the government will conduct a traditional rule-writing process," according to DetNews. "The agencies have made clear that they intend to conduct a public rulemaking with additional opportunity for public comment," she added.
The change of course at the White House regarding the intention to take public input into consideration is not the only change of heart to take place recently, as Issa says that in a letter dated August 11, he requested e-mails, records and communication between automakers and the Obama administration and was turned down unilaterally in regards to the documents, while also being denied answers to most of his questions.
The White House instead directed Issa to speak with the Department of Transportation and the EPA directly. Subsequent communication from the chairman questioned whether or not the DOT had sufficiently evaluated the potential for safety concerns that could result from fuel economy standards being increased - such as the continued trend for automakers to remove full or even small-sized spare tires from vehicles in an effort to shed weight.
"We have received the letter from Chairman Issa and will respond as appropriate. Safety considerations were central to establishing a national program to improve fuel economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions for passenger cars and light trucks through model year 2016," said Olivia Alair, U.S. Department of Transportation spokeswoman. "Likewise, safety continues to be our top priority as we move toward a proposal for standards for model year 2017-2025 vehicles."
For now, the new regulations have been delayed from an originally proposed late-September publish date, to mid-November.
References
1.'White House: Public...' view
