Political Quotes

“I thank the Chair. Let me quickly comment on the question of highway deaths. The study of USA Today is that 46,000 people have died in crashes that would have survived in larger cars. I have not heard that fact disputed. We have seen a chart which shows that there are fewer highway deaths and that we have better fuel economy, but that chart doesn't show the two are causally connected. Indeed, the fewer highway deaths may come from seatbelts, a greater effort on the anti-alcoholism campaign, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, a number of other causes. But the outside figure, not the auto industry, not the unions, not the supplier, not the insurance industry, which opposes this amendment, the outside survey done by USA Today says 46,000 people lost their lives who would not have lost their lives but for this CAFE approach. When we look at the resolution, we don't see any reference to safety. We don't see any reference to the discriminatory impact on domestics that have a different mix in their fleets. We only see a reference to fuel. That is the one factor at which this resolution looks. Then at the end it makes it very clear what it is driving at--talking about driving. This resolution is aimed at one thing: to increase CAFE standards. This isn't just ``let's have a study, look at the impact on safety, look at the discriminatory impact on domestic production.'' This isn't just let's have a study.…”