Posted by
BLOGASSAULT on Monday, January 26, 2009 10:30:00 AM
Auto makers are having a hard enough time staying a float, and now President Obama is
going to make it more difficult by letting states make up their own emission regulations. If this is done, the auto manufactures will have to build cars that meet two standards, the federal standard and then these 13 other states standards. Of course the other problem could be that those 13 other states can't agree on the smae standards and could come up with 13 different standards, albiet highly unlikely.
The Bush administration denied the waiver in late 2007, saying that recently enacted federal mileage rules made the action unnecessary and that allowing California and the 13 other states the right to set their own pollution rules would result in an unenforceable patchwork of environmental law.
The auto companies had advocated a denial, saying a waiver would require them to produce two sets of vehicles, one to meet the strict California standard and another that could be sold in the remaining states.
You have to admit, President Obama is wasting no time changing things.