Testimony on CAFE Program Reforms
CAFE has been a very imperfect, but important, policy in dealing with fuel consumption. The Academy concluded, in 2002, that our oil imports would have been 2.8 million barrels a day higher had the policy not existed. (See Finding l in Appendix A). Many experts believe that a more effective approach to reducing fuel consumption – and a more cost-effective approach for the U.S. economy – would be stronger gasoline tax or oil tax that would not only encourage consumers to purchase more efficient vehicles but also encourage them to be more economical in their driving, a critical component that CAFE does nothing to address. Indeed, such a tax would have a more rapid impact on consumption than is possible through CAFE. These experts, of course, are not subject to popular election
