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Highly Successful Program Shows
Democratic Congress’ Clean Energy Plan is Working
WASHINGTON (July 31, 2009) – Rep. Edward J. Markey, one
of the authors of the Cash for Clunkers program, today praised his colleagues
and the White House for taking such swift action to extend the wildly successful
Cash for Clunkers program. The House of Representatives today passed by an
overwhelming vote to extend the program with an additional $2 billion in
funding. Rep. Markey also pushed to ensure that the money to fund the extension,
which will be used from a clean energy fund from the Recovery Act, would be
replenished to further America’s clean energy
goals.
Preliminary statistics from carmakers and others show
that the oil-savings results are phenomenal:
--During the week that the ‘Cash for Clunkers’ program
was launched, GM’s small car sales increased 54.8 percent over the preceding
week.
--The leading Ford vehicle being purchased under the
program is the 28 mpg Ford Focus at nearly 30 percent of all Ford
sales.
--Toyota reports that 78%
of their Cash for Clunkers volume were the Corolla, Prius, Camry, RAV 4 and
Tacoma, with a
resulting average of 30 mpg.
--Hyundai is reporting a 59 percent increase in fuel
economy compared to the old vehicle—which averaged 140,000
miles.
Below is the statement of Rep.
Markey, Chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global
Warming:
“This program has proven to be the ultimate triple play:
It is good for the economy, good for energy independence and great for
consumers.
“Here in Congress, creating a successful program usually
takes a while to get up to speed, but the Cash for Clunkers program is like a
race car that went from zero to 60 in three
seconds.
“Cash for Clunkers was originally part of the
Waxman-Markey clean energy legislation, showing the work of the Democratic
Congress on clean energy is succeeding for the American
people.
“This program has exceeded even the highest
expectations. Cash for Clunkers may be the fastest federal rulemaking ever
completed, and one of the fastest federal programs to exhaust its resources. I
commend my colleagues and the Obama administration for its tireless efforts to
both implement it and extend its lifetime.”
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