Congress Passes Cash for Clunkers Bill in Need of Repairs
The bill that started out with a dual mission of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and assisting automakers by boosting the sale of fuel-efficient cars may not do much for either the environment or the auto industry in its current form.
As the Cash for Clunkers legislation made its way through Congress, the environmental standards it originally contained were weakened so severely that critics of the bill started calling it “handouts for Hummers.” Meanwhile, automakers are predicting that at most the new program may increase new auto sales by 10 percent over the next few months, far below the results of similar programs in Europe.
Currently, the Cash for Clunkers program established by Congress is scheduled to be in effect only until November 1, because just $1 billion has been set aside to finance the $4 billion program. For the program to continue beyond November 1, Congress will have to find more money.
Meanwhile, many critics of the bill are hoping Congress will use the November deadline as a reason to take the Cash for Clunkers program in for repairs. And that could happen. U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who originally drafted much tougher legislation that would have done more to help the environment, reportedly has received “absolute assurance” from Senate leaders that if the Cash for Clunkers program is extended beyond November it will be modeled on her proposal.
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I want to thank all the tax payers for buying my “clunker”, now I can get that camaro (V6=29mpg highway,V8=25mpg) I’ve had my eye own.
O’yea I get to claim the taxes I paid for it at year end too, lol.
This is a fantastic bill – though I worry that it could have some negative implications…. see: http://www.mindreign.com/en/mindshare/Environmental-Concerns/Cash-for-Clunkers/sl36962308bp294cpp10pn1.html for more details.