I are so pleased to announce a major step forward in President Trumps plan to help ensure that more americans have access to safer more affordable and cleaner new cars that meet their familys needs. 2 1 2 years ago President Trump spoke with auto workers in michigan and said that we would review and revise the last administrations unattainable fuel economy regulations. Those rules were making cars more expensive and impeding safety because consumers were being priced out of newer, safer vehicles. Our team of experts have been jointly working together conducting a long, thoughtful and detailed review of these rules. And todays action is an important down payment on the president s commitment. The one National Program that we are announcing today will ensure that there is one and only one set of National Fuel economy standards as Congress Mandated and intended. No state has the authority to opt out of the nations rules, and no state has a right to impose its policies on everybody else in our whole country. To do otherwise harms consumers and damages the american economy. It should be noted that this rule only applies to fuel economy. It will not affect californias ability to refocus its efforts on fighting the worst air pollution in the country and comply with existing regulations. In the coming weeks well also be publishing the second part of the safe vehicles rule, which will set new National Standards, fuel economy standards. And while the second part is not yet finalized, i can say that the updated standards will be reasonable. And for the sake of the american worker, the whole entire work force, american let me say that over again. And for the sake of american workers, american car buyers and the economy, the rule will not force auto makers to spend billions of dollars developing cars that consumers do not want to buy or drive. The new standards will help make new vehicles more affordable and will ensure that the American Consumer still has a variety of choices when selecting vehicles that best suits their familys needs. The new standards will save our country billions of dollars. They will strengthen our domestic Manufacturing Base by adding millions of new car sales, and of course, supporting good paying american jobs. And most importantly, because newer cars are safer, the standards will save thousands of lives and prevent tens of thousands of serious injuries. So with todays one National Program rule, the administration is standing up for all americans, their needs and their right to choose. We will not let political agendas in a single state be forced upon the other 49. And we will always put safety first. Thanks so much. [ applause ] thank you very much, secretary chao. It is now my privilege to introduce the administrator of the Environmental Protection agency, administrator andrew wheeler. Thanks to administrator wheelers leadership epa is delivering on President Trumps agenda to grow the economy and improve lives while at the same time protecting the environment and human health. Todays action is the latest in a long line of a very important regulatory reforms at epa. And i know that he will continue to keep me and my team very busy. Please join me in welcoming administrator andrew wheeler. Thank you, anne. I want to thank your whole team. Thank you, secretary chao. I will to thank your whole team in particular. Our teams together worked long and hard over it last months to get this proposal where it is. And i want to thank you you and from the professionalism of your staff in everything weve done together. President trump promised the American Public that his administration would address and fix the current fuel economy and Greenhouse Gas emissions standards. Today we are delivering on a critical element of the president s commitment. Epa and d. O. T. Are issuing a final action that will establish one set of economy fuel standards. Let me be clear, our goal from the beginning was a 50state solution. I met three times since over taking the epa over a year ago, but despite our betts efforts we kae cannot reach a solution. Federalism does not mean one state can dictate standards for one country. Cafe does not stand for california assumes federal empowerment. So we are moving forward with one National Fuel economy standard standard. We believe the law is clear. No state has the ability to opt out of National Fuel economy standards, and no state has the authority to set its own fuel economy standards that impact human safety, the environment and commerce for the rest of the country. One National Standard will provide much needed certainty to the Automotive Industry and sets the stage for President Trumps ultimate objective, a final safe rule that will save lives and strengthen the economy by reducing the price of new vehicles and helping more americans purchase newer, cleaner and safer cars and trucks. This is good for Public Safety, good for the economy and good for the environment. Heres how todays action works. Under the energy, policy or conservation act d. O. T. Sets cafe standards. Expressly provides that the federal government regulate fuel economy, not the states. Since theres a direct scientific link between a cars Greenhouse Gas emissions and its fuel economy, d. O. T. Is determining epica permit and withdraw the 2013 waiver for californias states ghg and programs. Separate and apart from that epa is withdrawing the waiver based on our interpretation and application for one of the criteria for denying a waiver. Does the state meet its standards to meet, quote, compelling and extraordinary conditions . Understood in its origin and context the California Waiver Authority exists because california has uniquely bad problems with smogforming pollute wants. Theres a direct and tight link between one california cars and their emissions of pollutants. Two the local concentrations of those emissions and three, the impacts they have on california due to the states extraordinary perfect storm of features like population, traffic, temperature, wind, ocean currents and topography, but for Greenhouse Gasses, the tight and direct link isnt there. California cars have no closer link to california climate impacts than do cars on the road in japan or anywhere else in the world, and californias climate impacts are not extraordinarily distinct from those felt in other states in the same way that its smog impacts are. It makes sense that congress carved out Waiver Authority for california to address its unique, local problems. It does not make sense to use that authority to try to address national and global issues like Greenhouse Gas emissions. Its time to put californias waiver back in its box. The box that congress always intended it to stand. Californias unique, extraordinary criteria air pollutant issues. Todays action does not impact a number of other california programs including its lowemission Vehicle Program designed to address harmful o zo ozone and other forms of air pollution. This will allow the state to focus on addressing its air quality problems and finally achieving compliance with epas ambient air quality standards. California has the worst air quality in the united states. It has 82 nonattainment areas and 34 Million People living in areas that do not meet the nax sta standards. Thats more than twice as many people as any other state in the country. We hope that the state will focus on these issues rather than trying to set fuel economy standards for the entire country. Todays action also clears the way for our final safe rule. Our proposed safe rule reflects what we believe is the right approach to National Fuel economy standards. Right for Public Safety and the environment and i will give four reasons why. First, revising the standards will reduce the price for new vehicles. The average Sticker Price of a new vehicle reached 39,500 in the first half of this year. This is simply out of reach for Many American families. The current trajectory of the standards is one of the factors driving costs higher. In order to comply with the obama standards, automakers need to sell many more electric vehicles. By some counts they will need to produce lineups that are 50 electric or more over the next several years. However, electric vehicles cost 12,000 more to make than the average vehicle according to mackenzie analysis. Those costs were passed on to the consumers despite billions of dollars in subsidies less than 2 of new vehicle sales, but one way for automakers to meet the stand ars is to loards the price of other popular vehicles such as suvs and trucks. In other words, American Families are playing more for suvs and trucks so that automakers can sell evs at a cheaper price. Its one thing for the American Public to directly subsidize electric vehicles through tax incentives and its another thing to use the nations vehicle emission standards to prop up a product that has a minimal impact on the environment and only the wealthy can afford. Of the roughly 57,000 households that receive the ev tax credit in 2016, nearly 80 made over 100,000. If these people want to buy an ev, i think they can afford one without asking low and middleincome americans to help pay for it. The preferred option would reduce the price by thousands of dollars which leads directly to my second point, revising the standards and reducing the price of new vehicles will save lives. Passengers are more likely to be killed in older vehicles than newer ones. According to a nhtsa study, the vehicle over 20 years old, the vehicle, not the driver, is more likely to be injured than the driver of a vehicle thats three years old or less. The driver of a vehicle is 32 more likely to die in an accident. The driver of a vehicle 17 years old is 50 more likely to be fatally injured. By reduce beiing the price of n vehicles we will have newer and safer cars and trucks and the safe rule can save thousands of lives. Were revising the standards in a manner that will have a negligible impact on the environment compared to the current standards. Here are two important facts that the public needs to know. First, even the most stringent standards imaginable will have a minimal impact on Global Temperatures. According to the obama administrations 2012 analysis,d lower Global Temperatures by 0. 02 of a degree celsius by 2,100. So its important to put things in context. Were talking about changes in the hundreds of a degree celsius by 2100. Heres the second fact. Most automakers cannot comply with the trajectory of the current standards. For model year 2016, domestic passenger Vehicle Manufacturers paid more than 77 million for noncompliance and the model year 2017 only three large manufacturers complied based on the Technology Levels of the vehicles alone. Most large manufacturers use bank credits along with Technology Improvements to maintain compliance. The most recent d. O. T. Data on credits and the shortfall between the fleet and cafe compliance suggests that the figure decreased dramatically due to the obama standards. The total shortfall for model year 2018 is the equivalent of almost 1. 3 billion, more than ten times higher than the equivalent shortfall for model important of which is passenger safety. By revising the standards we will reduce the price of new vehicles and as prices fall, President Trumps vision becomes reality, more americans will be able to purchase newer, cleaner and safer vehicles, vehicles they actually want to bay. Accelerating turnover is good for the Auto Industry, its good for consumers, its good for Public Safety and good for the environment and thank you for your time and your attention and thank you for joining us today. [ applause ] thank you very much administrator wheeler. I would like to take this opportunity to invite congressman from the First District of california congressman doug lamoffa for your remarks, sir. Thank you. [ applause ] thank you very much. Im delighted to be here with this subject matter. In real life im a farmer in Northern California and im in touch with my constituents with what the automotive needs are and what were talking about the bottom line is auto choice. People in this country still like to have choices and when i saw this obamaera mandate coming down the line a few years ago, im thinking how realist sirealistic is it that by the year 2025 they will average 55 mile per gallon vehicle. Especially what it means for the average buyer. A mom needs to get the kids to school and off to do her other chores or the dad or they might have vehicle in it because they have a guy my size. So i think what were really seeing is my administration, and i want to be very thankful to secretary chao and administrator wheeler in listening to the people in this situation. California Resources Board for my constituents they plead with me and my state legislative colleagues to say can we have some relief from the latest dream they have each month and six months on a new mandate. I have legislation to make it, for example, less costly to buy fullsize trucks for people to use in agriculture. If you got it, everything you have has been brought by a truck. We want to mandate trucks and have them burn cleaner and better and there is a punitive tax thats the 12,000 to 15,00 for buying a new truck and we want to incentivize, and the same thing goes with automobiles and the administrator wheeler hit it out of the park that this comes down to subsidizing other people into these electric vehicles and we know standing alone electric vehicles do not pay and the electricity comes from somewhere. It doesnt just magically happen nearby. I have the power lines running from my district from hydroelectric plants for many miles through my rice fields to go to the urban areas so people can feel good about themselves about plugging into an electric car. So the reality is the better we can make the gasoline powered vehicles more efficient and the tail pipe is still clean on all these cars no matter what their size and what their mpg is. So were chasing co2 numbers here. So the reality is that our manufacturers are making better cars than ever on efficiency, on aerodynamics and cars that you like to drive. Im a car enthusiast myself and one of the manufacturers im not very happy with with cutting a deal with california and going behind the administration who is looking out for Consumer Choice in this country. So at this point i hope we can go straight ahead and i will support epa and i never thought i would be saying a lot about that, and secretary chao, and right in my own district were putting out a 54,000acre forest quality. If you want to talk about air quality. Hundreds of thousands of acres burn in the west and i realize its a different building down the street and theyre working on making it, and also this migratory emissions that come from other areas that affect our state, too. So forcing us into our little caves and our little tiny cars is not going to change the situation for my constituent, for californians and certainly not to have the state of california and the boards di dictatorial policies. Again, my people plead for relief from carb to put reasonable regulations back in place. I hope this administration does not give up at all on fighting carb because thats all that california seems to want to do is fight us in congress and this administration and every day they pick up a new lawsuit and a new thing and were just trying to make jobs happen in this country and not in china. All of these things have to be manufactured somewhere else to make these electric cars go and why are we mining the materials in this country that we need for batteries and this hightech apparatus and we need it across the board and instead we need other countries to supply the manufacturing and supply the raw materials. Were on the right track because we can do it better and more ecologically soundly than anywhere in the world if were allowed to do it. Again, my thanks, administrator wheeler and assistant administrator edsel and secretary chao and everybody in this room here today thats being a part of in to give us our choices back for our constituents for what they need and not what they need in sacramento. Thank you. [ applause ] thank you very much for your remarks congressman lamalfa. That concludes our press, vent this morning. We remain available to answer questions you might have. You in a thank you all for joining us this morning. [ applause ] [ inaudible question ] hi. California has sorry. Chris with argus media. California has gotten four automakers to say theyll support their rules and how many automakers have said theyll support the safe rule when it comes out . What theyre still waiting to hear what the final safe numbers look like. Of course, were talking to all of the auto manufacturers including fourth that signed that agreement although i dont believe theres actually an agreement thats been made public that theyve actually signed. I think its more in theory, but we are, of course, sent a letter to california last week to find out what the Legal Authority is for this agreement so we are looking into that aspect. We expect when we release the second half of the safe proposal and the standards that all of the automakers will take a look at it and see that its feasible and its