H.R. 691, the Child Passenger Protection Education Grant Program, will provide $7.5 million in each of the next two fiscal years for automobile child restraint seats. The measure passed the U.S. House of Representatives by 107-48. The program was created in 1998 under the Transportation Equity Act. Supporters say many child fatalities have been prevented due to this program providing increased use of child restraints.
The U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee held a hearing on auto insurance regulation. The hearing focused on two states that are overly regulated, Massachusetts and New Jersey. Both states are losing the services of major auto insurance companies such as State Farm. The hearing was held to review the lack of consumer choice and the potential harm it has on states. South Carolina recently deregulated its auto insurance and has shown progress. Premiums have fallen and the number of insurers serving the state has doubled. House members listened to concerns from experts in the auto insurance industry as they discussed the problems of overregulated states: lack of choice, rate suppression and low-risk drivers subsidizing the costs for high-risk drivers.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted 300-125 to deny California's request for a waiver from the 2 percent oxygenate fuel additive required by the Clean Air Act. Currently, the oxygenate being used is methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), which has been found to contaminate groundwater. With rejection of the waiver by the House, California will have to use ethanol, an oxygenate additive made from corn and safer than MTBE. California Gov. Gray Davis and the state of California have sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to get it to overturn the House's decision of denying California a waiver from the oxygen requirement in reformulated gasoline.
In a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Christine Whitman, state and local air quality officials are requesting their authority be maintained. Under the Clean Air Act of 1990 section 211 (c), local and state air quality officials can set tougher standards in their areas than the federal programs require. The officials wrote the letter in response to the EPA and the administration's reviewing clean fuel requirements.
The letter states, “No matter what conclusions EPA and the administration draw from the study of boutique fuels and their impact, under no circumstances should state and local areas' authorities under section 211 (c) of the Clean Air Act be weakened.”
The officials are also requesting clarification from the EPA and the administration that environmental regulations cause fuel shortages and price increases. In the letter, they ask the EPA to “study and validate” this charge before changes to the overall programs are made.
The regulators who wrote the letter are members of the State and Territorial Air Pollution Program Administrators and the Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officials.
To combat strict clean air rules, General Motors is considering producing more diesel engines for light trucks as fuel saving alternatives. In a report conducted by the Diesel Technology Forum, diesels can get 30 percent better fuel economy than gasoline engines. Diesel fuel vehicles are increasing in popularity in European countries to combat the high cost of fuel.
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AutoInc. Magazine ® Vol.XLIX, October 2001
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Copyright © 2001 Automotive Service Association (ASA). All rights reserved.