Paul Ryan: “Mr. Chairman, we all want higher fuel efficiency for cars. Everybody believes in that goal, but we do not want to…”

“Mr. Chairman, we all want higher fuel efficiency for cars. Everybody believes in that goal, but we do not want to accomplish this goal at the expense of vehicle safety and workers' jobs. This chart shows what the amendment is proposing. They are proposing a steep, steep increase in CAFE standards in an unworkable time line. One point that I have noticed that has not been shared on the floor today is this: The foreign automobile manufacturers have more CAFE credits than the American automobile manufacturers do. So when this amendment passes, what we will be accomplishing is a shift in market share. We will be compromising American jobs. That means less Tahoes, less Suburbans, less Cherokees, less Wranglers and more Land Cruisers, more Range Rovers. So we are not going to pull these big SUVs off the road because the market demand is still there. Mr. Chairman, this will put us at a competitive disadvantage. It will cost us jobs, thousands of jobs in America with no practical result, because the gap will be filled by the foreign competitors who will get an unfair competitive advantage over American auto producers if this amendment passes.”