John McCain: Bad for drivers

Full Report

Americans are fed up with congestion, pollution and gas prices

Americans know that our transportation system isn’t doing the job. High gas prices are draining consumers’ pocketbooks. Traffic congestion takes away time we could spend at work, at play or at home with our families. And the pollution that comes from vehicle tailpipes fouls our air, harms our health, and contributes to the warming of the planet.

America needs a president who will lead the country with bold solutions that can cut the cost of commuting, provide new transportation options for more people, and clean up our air.

Unfortunately, Sen. John McCain has consistently missed the mark or been missing altogether when it comes to casting votes to solve America’s transportation challenges.

Bad transportation policy keeps us hooked on oil and stuck in traffic

For decades, Big Oil, the automakers, the highway lobby and other powerful interests have held sway over transportation policy in Washington, D.C. Now, America’s drivers and our environment are paying the price. For example:

• Automakers have fought tooth and nail against stronger fuel economy standards for cars. As a result, America spends twice as much each year on gasoline as we did five years ago. That’s an additional $200 billion per year sucked out of Americans’ pocketbooks, with much of it sent to unfriendly nations overseas.[1]

• Similarly, automakers have fought stronger emission standards for cars. Emissions from cars are a major source of air pollution such as smog and are a leading contributor to global warming. The gasoline we use in our cars and trucks produces more carbon dioxide—the leading global warming pollutant—than the entire economy of any other nation in the world other than China, Russia and Japan,[2] and unhealthy air affects 125 million Americans.[3]

• The highway lobby has fought for more money for new highways while starving transportation alternatives of funding. Since 1956, the government has spent $2.5 trillion more dollars on highways than on public transportation.[4] As a result, many Americans have no good transportation options, condemning drivers to spend more than 4.2 billion hours sitting in traffic in 2005.[5]

Transportation choices for the 21st century

America has the know-how to take on our transportation challenges. We have the technology to make cars and trucks that use less gas and produce less pollution. We can provide transportation choices such as modern public transit to more Americans, relieving pressure on our overcrowded roads. We can also take advantage of clean, alternative sources of energy. For example:

• The technology exists to make our cars and trucks go much farther on a gallon of gasoline. Automakers could achieve a fleet average of 40 miles per gallon within 10 years with existing technology.[6]

• New technologies such as plug-in hybrids—which use a combination of gasoline and electricity—could allow cars to get more than 100 miles per gallon, saving more than $1,500 at the pump, while reducing pollution.[7] Several automakers are now racing to produce plug-in hybrids within the next two years.[8]

• Cities across the country are pushing to expand their public transportation systems to accommodate a surge in demand for transportation alternatives. Transit ridership hit a 50-year high in 2007.[9] Interest is also growing in building new high-speed rail links between American cities to provide an alternative to the hassles of flying and driving. High-speed trains can reach up to 200 miles per hour while using far less oil.

Americans are hungry for alternatives to traffic congestion, high gas prices, and polluting vehicles. But achieving a better transportation future means taking on powerful interests in Washington, D.C.

The 2008 election and America’s transportation needs

The next president must lead America on a host of important transportation issues. We must elect a president who is willing to stand up to Big Oil and other powerful interests and work for real solutions to safeguard drivers’ pocketbooks, clean up our air, and keep America moving.

Too often during his Senate career, however, when Americans have needed leadership, Sen. McCain simply hasn’t been there.

Sen. McCain: Bad for drivers and our air

Time and again, Sen. John McCain has voted to make life harder for American drivers and failed to take action to clean our air. Sen. McCain:

• Missed key votes to increase fuel economy standards for cars,[10] a step that will cut oil consumption in the United States by more than 8 billion gallons a year by 2020, while saving American drivers $26 billion per year at the pump and reducing global warming pollution by 83 million metric tons.[11]

• Missed a critical vote to encourage the development of plug-in hybrid vehicles.[12] If powered by clean electricity, plug-in hybrids can reduce the air pollution that puts the health of 125 million Americans at risk.[13]

• Missed a vote to stop huge taxpayer subsidies to expensive and polluting liquid coal plants.[14] Liquid fuel from coal produces twice as much global warming pollution as ordinary gasoline and the $7 billion cost of each liquid coal plant would be enough to build 2,500 wind turbines, or buy more than 300,000 Americans their own brand-new hybrid car.[15]

• Voted against investing in improvements in passenger rail service,[16]an increasingly attractive alternative to flying and driving for longer trips.

In addition, Sen. McCain has taken $1.3 million in campaign contributions from the oil industry during the 2008 presidential campaign alone[17] and has surrounded himself with 28 oil and gas industry lobbyists who serve as fundraisers, staffers and advisors.[18]

The choice for America: Barack Obama for President

By electing Sen. Barack Obama, Americans can ensure that they have a champion fighting for their interests—and not those of Big Oil—in the critical decisions that face the next president. Unlike John McCain, Barack Obama has shown up and taken leadership in solving America’s transportation and energy problems. Sen. Obama:

• Has consistently voted for stronger fuel economy standards for cars.[19]

• Voted against expensive taxpayer subsidies for polluting liquid coal.[20]

• Voted to invest in improvements to America’s passenger rail system.[21]

In Barack Obama, Americans will have a leader who will look out for their interests, fight to make life easier for drivers, and work to clean up our air and protect our health.

About Environment America

We all want clean air, clean water and open space. But it takes independent research and tough-minded advocacy to win concrete results for our environment, especially when powerful interests stand in the way of environmental progress. That's the idea behind Environment America. We focus exclusively on protecting America’s air, water and open space. We speak out and take action at the local, state and national levels to improve the quality of our environment and our lives.

Sources

[1] U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Review 2007, 23 June 2008.

[2] Emissions from oil from U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2006, 28 November 2007; International emissions from U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, International Energy Annual 2005, 1 October 2007. 

[3] American Lung Association, State of the Air 2008, 2008.

[4] U.S. PIRG Education Fund, A Better Way to Go: Meeting America’s 21st Century Transportation Challenges with Modern Public Transit, March 2008.

[5] David Schrank and Tim Lomax, Texas Transportation Institute, The 2007 Urban Mobility Report, September 2007.

[6] Union of Concerned Scientists, Common Sense on Climate Change Solutions #1: Make Better Cars and SUVs, downloaded from www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/global_warming_101/common-sense-solution-1.html, 19 September 2008.

[7] Environment America, Reduce Our Oil Dependence: Support S. 3335 and Credits for Plug-In Electric Vehicles, undated.

[8] Both General Motors and Toyota have pledged to produce plug-in hybrid vehicles around 2010. See Micheline Maynard, “Toyota Will Offer a Plug-In Hybrid by 2010,” New York Times, 14 January 2008.

[9] American Public Transportation Association, 10.3 Billion Trips Taken on Public Transportation Ridership in 2007 – The Highest Level in 50 Years; Ridership Increased as Gas Prices Remained High, press release, 10 March 2008.

[10] Recorded as not voting on cloture and final passage of HR 6, Roll call votes #225 and #226, 21 June 2007, Congressional Record, 21 June 2007, S8221.

[11] Based on Benjamin Schreiber, Environment America, Driving Towards a New Energy Future, November 2007.

[12] Recorded as not voting on cloture and final passage of HR 6, Roll call votes #225 and #226, 21 June 2007, Congressional Record, 21 June 2007, S8221.

[13] Air pollution based on “at-risk” population as identified in American Lung Association, State of the Air: 2008, 2008.

[14] Recorded as not voting on Senate amendment 1628, Roll call #213, 19 June 2007, Congressional Record, S7860, 19 June 2007.

[15] “Twice as much global warming pollution” from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Greenhouse Gas Impacts of Expanded Renewable and Alternative Fuels Use, fact sheet, EPA420-F-07-035, April 2007. $7 billion from National Energy Technology Lab, Economic Impacts of U.S. Liquid Fuel Mitigation Options, July 8, 2006. DOE/NETL-2006-1237. Hybrid car cost based on MSRP of $22,000 for a Toyota Prius from www.toyota.com, 23 September 2008. Wind turbines based on estimated overnight cost of $1,701/kW of wind power capacity in 2010 from U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, Assumptions to Annual Energy Outlook 2008, June 2008, and average wind turbine size of 1.65 MW in 2007 from Ryan Wiser and Mark Bolinger, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Annual Report on U.S. Wind Power Installation, Cost, and Performance Trends: 2007, Report Summary [Power Point presentation], May 2008.

[16] NO vote on HR 2095, Federal Rail Safety Improvement Act, Roll call vote #210, 1 October 2008, Congressional Record, 1 October 2008, S10290.

[17] Contributions from oil industry based on Oil Change International, Follow the Oil Money database, data downloaded from oilmoney.priceofoil.org/index.php, 8 October 2008.

[18] Democratic National Committee. No Reformer: McCain puts Lobbyists First While Americans Struggle. 12 September, 2008.

[19] YES vote on cloture and final passage of HR 6, Roll call votes #225 and #226, 21 June 2007, Congressional Record, 21 June 2007, S8221.

[20] NO vote on Senate amendment 1628, Roll call #213, 19 June 2007, Congressional Record, S7860, 19 June 2007.

[21] YES vote on HR 2095, Federal Rail Safety Improvement Act, Roll call vote #210, 1 October 2008, Congressional Record, 1 October 2008, S10290.