Feds lobby against fuel plan

House panel chairman says secret efforts to oppose Calif. emissions waiver suggest a 'hidden agenda.'

David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Transportation secretly lobbied dozens of members of Congress in recent weeks, urging them to join the Bush administration in opposing California's request to impose its own strict fuel efficiency regulations, according to a House investigative committee.

Using a one-page script and a list of auto facilities obtained from the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a trade group that represents automakers, staffers at the Department of Transportation called nearly every congressional member from Michigan and Ohio, urging them to oppose California's request, according to records released this week by the House Oversight Committee. They also targeted other auto-heavy districts and governors in at least seven other states.

While federal law bars government officials from lobbying lawmakers on issues before Congress, there are no such restrictions on regulatory questions, such as the California waiver.

Still, the lobbying suggests an "improper hidden agenda" because it comes as the administration is making "an independent assessment of the merits" of California's request, U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the oversight committee, said in a letter to Transportation Secretary Mary Peters.

While some House members said the effort showed the Bush administration is working in tandem with the auto industry to block stricter fuel regulations, the Department of Transportation said it has consistently supported creating federal standards rather than state-by-state rulemaking.

"No one should be surprised by our position since it goes back three decades," said spokesman Brian Turmail. "Our position is there needs to be a single national fuel economy standard."

The House investigation is ongoing and the committee is seeking additional e-mails and documents related to the lobbying effort.

The Environmental Protection Agency is considering a request from California to establish vehicle tailpipe emissions limits for greenhouse gases. Eleven other states want to adopt California's standards, which would require average fuel economy of 40 miles per gallon by 2016. The standards cannot take effect without a waiver from the EPA.

E-mails, records turned over

Automakers have filed three federal lawsuits to block the new rules, suggesting they would cost them billions and possibly put them out of business.

The issue is as critical to the automakers as legislation moving through Congress that calls for raising Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards to 35 mpg by 2020.

Until now, the Bush administration has not taken a public position on the California waiver, but the records released by Waxman show the Department of Transportation mounted a fairly extensive opposition effort that essentially supports automakers.

The Department of Transportation turned over 71 pages of e-mails and other records to Waxman's committee, which began investigating last month after a House staffer gave the committee a voice mail received from Heideh Shahmoradi, a special assistant for governmental affairs at the Department of Transportation.

The message was nearly identical to the call script, which suggested department officials tell lawmakers the waiver could "greatly impact the auto facilities within your district." The script adds: "If asked our position, we say we are in opposition of the waiver."

E-mails show that Transportation Department officials discussed the request to oppose the waiver with staffers from the offices of U.S. Reps. Candice Miller, R-Harrison Township, and Joe Knollenberg, R-Bloomfield Township.

"We are thinking about it and discussing it with other Michigan offices," Caleb Overdorff, an aide to Miller, wrote to Shahmoradi on June 12. "I will let you know what we decide to do."

Stakes 'could not be higher'

The lobbying blitz came ahead of a June 15 deadline for submitting comments to the EPA on California's request. Knollenberg, Miller and five other Michigan congressional Republicans sent a letter to the agency urging it to reject the waiver.

"The stakes for Michigan and American manufacturing could not be higher," the letter said. "The EPA should not allow California and other states to make a mad rush to saddle the auto industry with technologically infeasible mandates."

Jamie Roe, Miller's chief of staff, said the e-mails to Miller's office show no sign of improper lobbying. "This is making a mountain out of an ant hill," Roe said Tuesday.

Knollenberg's chief of staff, Trent Wisecup, said his boss had long opposed the waiver. He said the auto industry "is under attack on all fronts. Mr. Waxman ought to take a deep breath instead of trying to launch a witch hunt."

Joan Claybrook, director of Public Citizen, criticized the campaign. "How is the EPA going to make an independent decision if the Transportation Department is lobbying to oppose it?"

U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, and another key member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, had released a draft fuel economy bill last month that would have barred California from going forward with its program. That bill has been shelved until fall under criticism from California Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The Transportation Department withheld 53 e-mails from the oversight committee. Turmail said Peters did not personally lobby any members of Congress on the issue.

The committee has requested the 53 withheld e-mails. If Waxman and the Transportation Department can't agree on what additional materials are essential to the investigation, the committee could subpoena the e-mails.

You can reach David Shepardson at (202) 662-8735 or dshepardson@detnews.com.