TRANSPORTATION OFFICIAL CITES DAMAGE TO AUTO INDUSTRY
By Frank Davies
MediaNews Washington Bureau
Article Launched: 06/13/2007
WASHINGTON - In a move denounced by state officials and others as improper lobbying on behalf of the auto industry, transportation officials in the Bush administration are making a pro-auto industry pitch to members of Congress, urging them to oppose California’s efforts to enforce tough emissions standards on vehicles.
One official, Heideh Shahmoradi, a special assistant to Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, left a voicemail recently with a House staffer warning that if California gets the authority from the Environmental Protection Agency to enact those controls, “this would greatly impact the auto facilities in your district.”
Shahmoradi asked if the staffer’s House member would ask his state’s governor to weigh in with the EPA to oppose California’s request. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has said the state will sue the EPA by October if it does not grant a waiver California has requested allowing the state to set its own standards - which 11 other states also have promised to enact.
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