Padilla, Markey Call on Trump Administration to End Rollback of Fuel Economy Standards

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, joined Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) to condemn the Trump Administration's proposed rollbacks of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, which save drivers money by improving gas mileage and reducing oil consumption.

"Overall, basic goods have an inflation rate right now of 3.8 percent. That's higher than it's been since 2023," said Senator Padilla. "All because of a president who promised to lower prices and tackle inflation, when he's in fact making things worse. So the last thing this Administration should be doing is forcing families to pay even more at the pump. But that's exactly what's going to happen if the Trump Administration succeeds in rolling back our fuel economy standards."

Padilla has repeatedly underscored the importance of stronger fuel economy standards to promote economic development and competition, protect the environment, and address affordability nationwide. The Trump Administration has proposed eliminating CAFE standards despite skyrocketing gas prices and worsening air quality.

Trump's unnecessary war with Iran has resulted in an affordability crisis across the country, causing gas prices to spike by more than $1.50 in just over two months.

Earlier this month, Padilla and his Democratic colleagues introduced the Transportation Fuel Market Transparency Act to crack down on petroleum market manipulation and protect consumers from unjustified price spikes at the pump.

Video of Padilla's remarks is available here.

Transcript of Padilla's remarks is available below.

"Let me begin by quoting Donald Trump, which I rarely, rarely do, but just yesterday he said, 'I don't think about Americans' financial situations.' That's the president of the United States. He does not care about the financial situations of American families. Boy, he's got a crazy way of showing it, doesn't he? Because families everywhere continue to pay increasing costs for everything from groceries to housing to health care and yes, gas prices and energy costs, overall.

Basic goods have an inflation rate right now of 3.8 percent. That's higher than it's been since 2023. All because of a president who promised to lower prices and tackle inflation when he's in fact making things worse.

So the last thing this Administration should be doing is forcing families to pay even more at the pump. But that's exactly what's going to happen if the Trump Administration succeeds in rolling back our fuel economy standards.

Let's just kind of lay it out here, right? Instead of saving consumers money, weaker fuel efficiency standards will cost them more. Plain and simple. When cars are less efficient, it means that consumers are having to pay for more gas to travel the same distance - more trips to the pump, more hard-earned dollars being pulled out of Americans' pockets and enriching oil companies.

Across the country, Americans are still struggling to fill the gas tanks in their cars. And this Administration's response is to make cars less efficient. It doesn't make sense to anybody.

And the consequences don't end at just families' budgets, trying to balance the books when you pay your bills every month. We know that the transportation sector is still the single largest contributor to climate pollution, and weaker standards will lead to more pollution in the air that our children breathe, that we all breathe, which will lead to more health problems like asthma, which means more health care costs.

This at a time when we had the warmest March on record - the warmest March in 132 years. Climate change is real, Senator Markey. And we're paying the price not just with our dollars, but with our health.

The truth of the matter is stronger fuel economy standards are good for the economy, good for American competitiveness, good for the environment, and good for taxpayers. Stronger standards push automakers to design and build more efficient and cleaner vehicles that reduces our dependence on foreign oil and saves Americans money.

That is the way forward. Let's move forward towards cleaner cars, lower costs, and a healthier future for all of us. And I stand with Senator Markey in this fight."

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