mr. chairman , i rise in opposition to the amendment . 
encouraging and supporting the development of innovative new technology is preferable to arbitrary increases in cafe standards that will truly hurt thousands of american workers . 
moreover , the national academy of sciences report of 2001 indicated that only the subcompact car segment of our fleet could be expected to achieve this fuel economy level . 
this suggests that a substantial portion of the vehicles on the road would have to be very small to reach this objective . 
reducing our consumption of oil should come from new technology , not by mandating a standard that requires most vehicles to be a subcompact . 
the national academy of sciences also raises concerns about potential increases in highway fatalities if the auto industry is forced into selling a greater share of small vehicles . 
according to the analysis of the insurance institute of highway safety data in 1999 , since cafe standards were first announced in 1975 , approximately 46 , 000 people died in crashes who would have survived if cafe had not encouraged smaller , lighter cars . 
i am concerned that this amendment would lead to more unnecessary fatalities . 
for these reasons , i urge a `` no '' vote on this amendment . 
