FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nathan Diament
202-513-6484
May 19, 2009

UNION OF ORTHODOX JEWISH CONGREGATIONS COMMENDS OBAMA ADMINISTRATION PROPOSAL TO INCREASE FUEL EFFICIENCY STANDARDS

Today, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (the “Orthodox Union”), the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, commended President Obama for proposing an important piece of energy legislation that will raise fuel-efficiency standards for automobiles.

Dependence on foreign oil has been an impediment to America’s ability to negotiate with threatening countries and individuals who control and set the price of oil. Moreover, the impact of automotive greenhouse gas emissions on the environment, thus affecting the world we live in today as well as the world we leave to our children is clearer to us now than ever before.

It is therefore encouraging that the Obama administration has put forward the challenge of creating a federal rulemaking body to set national fuel efficiency standards. The administration’s proposal to increase the Corporation Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) standards from 35 miles per gallon (mpg) by 2020 to 35.5 mpg by 2016 is a major step in a very positive direction towards greening the environment.

Nathan Diament, director of public policy for the Orthodox Union stated:

We are pleased that the Obama Administration has chosen to address this longstanding energy policy concern. We strongly support an aggressive energy policy that will diminish the United States’ reliance upon imported oil for our energy needs. We believe that such a policy is critical to strengthen America’s ability to pursue its national interests, both strategic- and value- based, around the world. Furthermore, we continually recognize greenhouse gas emission reduction as integral to addressing the issues confronting the environment in which we live, thereby leaving unto our children a greener, cleaner world.

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