Tom Carper: “I commend him and the young man sitting next to him, David Strickland, who has done great work, as has a member of my…”

“I commend him and the young man sitting next to him, David Strickland, who has done great work, as has a member of my staff, Beth Osborne, seated behind me. We can talk about what might have been and how this legislation could have been better, more comprehensive. Six months ago I stood here and said, there are three things we need to accomplish with respect to fuel efficiency for cars, trucks, and vans. No. 1, we ought to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. No. 2, we should reduce the emissions of harmful stuff up into the air. No. 3, we should accomplish goals 1 and 2 without undermining the competitiveness of the domestic auto industry. Tonight as we are on the verge of passing this legislation, we will reduce our dependence on foreign oil, we will reduce harmful emissions, and we will not undermine the competitive advantage of our domestic auto industry. It is not enough for us as a Congress to say to the auto industry, raise fuel efficiency standards, eat your spinach. We have a responsibility to help them.”