The Latest: Protesters gather ahead of car-mileage hearing
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on a California hearing on a proposal to roll back car-mileage standards (all times local):
9:05 a.m.
Demonstrators have gathered ahead of California hearing on the Trump administration’s proposal to roll back car-mileage standards.
The session in Fresno is set to begin at 10 a.m. Monday and is expected to last all day.
It’s the first of three events by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to gather public comment on the mileage plan.
Paul Gipe and his wife Nancy Nies drove up from Bakersfield to protest the proposal.
Gipe writes about renewable energy and calls the White House plan a step backward and a “statement that air pollution is acceptable.”
The proposal would freeze U.S. mileage standards at levels mandated by the Obama administration for 2020 instead of letting them rise to 36 miles (58 kilometers) per gallon (3.8 liters) by 2025.
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12:05 a.m.
Doctors, environmental groups and California officials will weigh in on the Trump administration’s proposal to roll back car-mileage standards at what could be a raucous hearing in a region with some of the nation’s worst air pollution.
The daylong session in Fresno on Monday is the first of three events by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to gather public comment on the mileage plan.
The proposal would freeze U.S. mileage standards at levels mandated by the Obama administration for 2020 instead of letting them rise to 36 miles (58 kilometers) per gallon (3.8 liters) by 2025.
Administration officials say waiving the tougher fuel efficiency requirements would make vehicles more affordable.
Opponents say it would undercut efforts to reduce unhealthy tailpipe emissions that are a significant contributor to climate change.
