What Should They Drive? And On Whose Nickel?

A couple of interesting stories relating to the vehicles leased by members of the House of Representatives made the rounds recently. One of them, in the Los Angeles Times (LAT), pointed out that an amendment to the energy bill passed by Congress in December requires that House members who lease using funds from their office budgets soon will be required to lease vehicles with low greenhouse-gas emissions.

A second story, this one in the New York Times (NYT), points out use of a car — paid for out of the member’s office budget — is one of the perks of being a member of the House of Representatives. It outlines the cast of characters and asks what you’d drive if someone else was paying. Members of the Senate, it must be noted, are on their own when it comes to paying for their vehicles – no subsidy for them.

Up to now, there have been few restrictions on what kind of car House members can choose, and there is no limit on how much of the public’s money they can spend on the operation and maintenance of their rides.

The story in the LAT tells us that about 130 of the members of the House lease vehicles under this program, which is part of the allowance that is provided for their office operations, and is, of course, all part of Your Tax Dollars at Work. The NYT piece says the number is about 125. No matter – the numbers are close enough for government work.

So far, according to information in both stories, the list of the vehicles that are driven is all over the map, ranging from hybrids to SUVs to luxury cars.

But thanks to last year’s new energy legislation, the Environmental Protection Agency will determine which vehicles lawmakers will be allowed to lease, a list that's expected before the end of the year. We’ve no clue which vehicles the EPA will select for its list, but we’d imagine that hybrids such as our Prius probably will be represented there – as will hybrids and high-MPG/low-emission cars from other companies.

Indeed, the LAT story speculates that the vehicles that score highly on the EPA's Green Vehicle Guide, which you can check out by clicking here, probably are most likely to be included. The guide rates vehicles’ "greenness" using a "Smartway," or Smartway Elite," score of 0 to 10.

We’re pleased that our Prius and Camry hybrid are two of the few vehicles represented at the top of Smartway Elite scoring – but we’ve got a question for you:

Factoring in your attitudes about Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards, the price of gas and the global warming debate, what vehicle, or class of vehicles, should elected representatives be expected to drive? Does it matter at all? And if it does, why?

Let us know. We’re curious about your thoughts on this.

- Jon F. Thompson, Editor, Open Road

Comments

[Stargazer in Savannah]

With the global warming hoax promoted and endorsed by House leadership it would be appropriate to require that members of the house use 'shanks mare' as their only legally authorized transportation. No member of the house should be allowed to fly at taxpayers expense! Those supporting the myth of global warming should telecommute only.
The 'carbon footprint' of every member of the House and Senate should be published weekly.