Candidates are listed in alphabetical order. Positions are categorized as Pro (Yes), Con (No), Not Clearly Pro or Con, or None Found.
Candidates who have withdrawn or who no longer meet our criteria are listed last.

Pro (Yes)

Con (No)

Clinton, Hillary (D) - Pro Hillary Clinton, U.S. Senator (D-NY), in a Nov. 5, 2007 article titled "ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE: Comprehensive Strategy to Address the Climate and Energy Challenge" on her official candidate website, stated: "As President, I will put in place a market-based cap and trade system to reduce carbon pollution...In combination with efficiency, fuel economy standards and other proposals, this system will ensure we meet our goal of reducing our contribution to global warming below 1990 levels by 80%... As President, I will raise the fuel efficiency standards to 40 miles per gallon by 2020 and 55 by 2030." Nov. 5, 2007 Hillary Clinton

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Gravel, Mike (Lib) - Pro Mike Gravel, former U.S. Senator (D-AK), stated in an Outside Online article titled "How Green Is Your Candidate?" (accessed Jan. 10, 2008): "Now, first off, I would [raise] CAFE [Corporate Average Fuel Economy] standards immediately-say that within three to five years you're going to have the same standard as Europe. End of story." Jan. 10, 2008 Mike Gravel

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Keyes, Alan (Ind) - Not Clearly Pro or Con Alan Keyes, former Assistant U.S. Secretary of State, stated in an Oct. 26, 2004 debate sponsored by WTTW and the City Club of Chicago: "[Phil] Ponce: ...Mr. Keyes, what would you, as a senator, do to push--would you, as a senator, push--to require greater fuel efficiency from the auto makers?... [Alan] Keyes: ...I think we need to develop proper alternative fuels. I think we need to develop ethanol. We need to push on the research, where breakthroughs are occurring, to get hydrogen from ethanol. Ponce: Are you talking about mandates from the government? Keyes: We will be able, by pushing on that kind of research - yes, with support of government funding, we'll be able to have a win for our farmers, in the agricultural sector, to improve the profitability of their product. We'll be able to have a win on the environment, because hydrogen, for instance, is more clean-burning. We'll be able to have a win on national security, because we will stop feeding dollars to Arab states who use those dollars to fund schools where people are taught to engage in terrorism, and use those dollars to support the cadre and infrastructure of terrorism." Oct. 26, 2004 Alan Keyes

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McCain, John (R) - Pro John McCain, U.S. Senator (R-AZ), stated in a YouTube.com video dated Oct. 13, 2007 and titled "Global Warming and Energy Solutions" in Manchester, NH: "There are some tough decisions that need to be made. One of them is increasing CAFE [Corporate Average Fuel Economy] standards. I am a small government, less regulation, lower taxes American. But I think it's time to raise CAFE standards." Oct. 13, 2007 John McCain

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McKinney, Cynthia (Grn) - Pro Cynthia McKinney, former U.S. House Representative (D-GA), stated in a May 25, 2000 article titled "Environment," posted on www.ratical.org: "Since I first arrived in Congress, I have sought to protect our environment, both nationally and locally...I voted...for stronger fuel-economy standards for trucks and SUVs." May 25, 2000 Cynthia McKinney

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Nader, Ralph (Ind) - Pro Ralph Nader, attorney, author, and political activist, wrote in an Apr. 12, 2004 article titled "Spinning Wheels - Our Continual Refusal to Raise CAFE Standards," published on CommonDreams.org: "...[T]he average fleet efficiency levels in new vehicles have slipped to the lowest level since 1980. So, here we are in 2004, almost twenty years later, and the standard is at the same pitifully low 27.5 mpg level for passenger cars and 20.7 mpg for light trucks and vans. Well it is time for a little introspection. Is the price of gasoline so low consumers don't mind driving gas guzzlers? The Department of Energy says the retail price gasoline in the United States is $1.78. At this price even the least frugal consumers have a real incentive to want fuel efficient automobiles... Congress should require the CAFE [Corporate Average Fuel Economy] standard be raised to at least 45 mpg for cars and 35 mpg for light trucks, to be phased in over five years. The auto industry has had almost 20 years to gear up for this schedule, given their bragging about their Research & Development programs. Consumers will save money at the pump, the air we breathe will be cleaner, and the amount of oil we import will decrease...We can start brightening our energy future by strengthening our fuel efficiency standards - even Detroit has had enough lead time to catch up with Tokyo." Apr. 12, 2004 Ralph Nader

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Obama, Barack (D) - Pro Barack Obama, U.S. Senator (D-IL), stated in a July 19, 2006 article titled "Senators Introduce Legislation to Reduce Gasoline Consumption by Half a Trillion Gallons" on his U.S. Senate website: "The Fuel Economy Reform Act of 2006 [co-introduced by Barack Obama] seeks to break the decades-long logjam on increasing fuel economy standards by taking a new, more flexible approach. The bill charges the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) to create regular annual increases in fuel economy with a target of 1 mile per gallon each year. The experts at NHTSA will base these standards on attributes of a vehicle such as size and weight, and will be able to revise the annual increase if they conclude that the target cannot be reached with current technology or without compromising the safety of the entire fleet, or is not cost-effective when compared to the economic and geopolitical value of a gallon of gasoline saved. This legislation flips the current debate about increasing fuel economy standards on its head, from a debate about whether standards will be raised to [a] presumption that they will be raised." July 19, 2006 Barack Obama

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Paul, Ron (R) - Not Clearly Pro or Con Ron Paul, U.S. Representative (R-TX), voted No on "Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007" (H.R.6) on Jan. 18, 2007: "An Act to move the United States toward greater energy independence and security, to increase the production of clean renewable fuels, to protect consumers, to increase the efficiency of products, buildings, and vehicles, to promote research on and deploy greenhouse gas capture and storage options, and to improve the energy performance of the Federal Government, and for other purposes." Jan. 18, 2007 Ron Paul

CANDIDATES WHO HAVE WITHDRAWN OR WHO NO LONGER MEET OUR CRITERIA      Biden, Joe (D) - None Found   Withdrew on Jan. 3, 2008; no position found as of that date Top      Brownback, Sam (R) - None Found   Withdrew on Oct. 19, 2007; no position found as of that date Top      Dodd, Chris (D) - None Found   Withdrew on Jan. 3, 2008; no position found as of that date Top    Edwards, John (D) - Pro John Edwards, former U.S. Senator (D-NC), offered the following in an article titled "Achieving Energy Independence & Stopping Global Warming Through a New Energy Economy" on his official candidate website (accessed Jan. 9, 2008): "Raise Fuel Economy Standards: American cars and trucks are less efficient than they were two decades ago, despite the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards. Standards in China, Japan, and the European Union are between 40 and 100 percent higher. Edwards will raise standards to 40 miles per gallon by 2016, a step that could single-handedly reduce oil demand by 4 million barrels per day." Jan. 9, 2008 John Edwards Top      Gilmore, Jim (R) - None Found   Withdrew on Aug. 14, 2007; no position found as of that date Top      Giuliani, Rudy (R) - Not Clearly Pro or Con Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City, stated in a July 18, 2007 press release titled "Rudy's Plan to Move Toward Energy Independence" on his official candidate website: "America's government, corporations, and individuals must engage in efficiency and conservation efforts that reduce demand for oil, without damaging America's competitiveness worldwide or our standard of living. We need to use more energy-efficient technologies and take personal responsibility for conserving energy. Every gallon of gas and any electricity we do not use is energy we do not import and pollution we reduce." July 18, 2007 Rudy Giuliani    Giuliani, Rudy (R) - Con [Editor's Note: Prior to Rudy Giuliani's June 25, 2007 Not Clearly Pro or Con position, he has also expressed a Con position as indicated by his July 10, 2007 statement during a campaign event in Manchester, NH on YouTube.com] "I don't like mandates, I don't think mandates generally work. I think mandates are kind of inconsistent with the kind of economy we have." July 10, 2007 Rudy Giuliani Top      Huckabee, Mike (R) - None Found     No position found as of Jan. 4, 2008. ProCon.org also emailed the Huckabee campaign on Dec. 13, 2007 with this question. They did not respond to our email.   Top      Hunter, Duncan (R) - Not Clearly Pro or Con Duncan Hunter, U.S. Representative (R-CA), voted No on the "Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007" (H.R.6) on Jan. 18, 2007: "An Act to move the United States toward greater energy independence and security, to increase the production of clean renewable fuels, to protect consumers, to increase the efficiency of products, buildings, and vehicles, to promote research on and deploy greenhouse gas capture and storage options, and to improve the energy performance of the Federal Government, and for other purposes." "H.R.6," Library of Congress website, Jan. 18, 2007 Top          Imperato, Daniel (3rd/I) - None Found ProCon.org emailed the Imperato campaign on Dec. 13, 2007 with this question. Mr. Imperato provided a response to this question and 26 others during a recorded 45-minute telephone interview with ProCon.org on Mar. 11, 2008. On Mar. 21, 2008 Mr. Imperato no longer met our eligibility criteria for inclusion on this site, and we stopped transcribing his verbal responses as of that date.   Top    Kubby, Steve (3rd/I) - Con Steve Kubby, a Libertarian candidate and founder of the American Medical Marijuana Association, stated in a Jan. 10, 2008 email to ProCon.org: "No. The future of fuel efficiency is in innovation, not in bureaucratic edicts. Mandatory standards tend in practice to become the routine rather than the minimum. Companies play it safe to meet that minimum, rather than taking risks and shooting for much greater gains. CAFE [Corporate Average Fuel Economy] standards also tend to concentrate the auto industry on marginally improving old technologies instead of pioneering new, better technologies." Jan. 10, 2008 Steve Kubby Top    Kucinich, Dennis (D) - Pro Dennis Kucinich, U.S. Representative (D-OH), offered the following in an excerpt of a letter dated May 25, 2002 to George Bush signed by Dennis Kucinich and 73 other members of Congress: "...Reduce oil consumption by implementing strong fuel economy standards. Substantially improving CAFE standards over a ten-year period would reduce the oil used by one-third in 2020 and save consumers $16 billion at the gas pump." May 25, 2002 Dennis Kucinich Top    McEnulty, Frank (3rd/I) - Pro Frank McEnulty, an Independent candidate and President of Our Castle Homes, in a Dec. 20, 2007 email to ProCon.org, stated: "Yes, but it should be a phased and constant improvement guideline. I believe an increase of 1 to 2 miles per gallon per year is not only achievable, but is also very fair to the industry. In the long run that also makes a very big difference. If everyone knows what the requirement is going to be and it is firm, it will be met. The problems with the standards just signed into law are twofold. First, it calls for a large increase by a date several years in the future so immediate benefits will be minimal. Second, when the deadline starts getting closer the auto manufacturers will start to whine that it can't be met and, if past history is any indication, get an extension on implementing the improved fuel efficiency standards." Dec. 20, 2007 Frank McEnulty Top    Richardson, Bill (D) - Pro Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico, stated at the Dec. 13, 2007 Demoractic Presidential Debate, hosted by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and held in Johnstown, IA: "Well, I like to think that I’ve made my state a clean energy state. I was energy secretary, it's going to take an energy revolution. And I regret that this morning the U.S. Senate, despite the best efforts of all here, killed an energy bill that would have given more tax credits and incentives to renewable energy. And I think this is tragic. I think fuel efficiency standards in this country should be 50 miles per gallon, not 35. That's pathetic." Dec. 13, 2007 Bill Richardson Top      Romney, Mitt (R) - Not Clearly Pro or Con Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts, stated in a Feb. 7, 2007 press release titled "Excerpts from Governor Mitt Romney's Remarks at the Detroit Economic Club" on his official candidate website: "Governor Romney Would Evaluate Reforms To CAFE [Corporate Average Fuel Economy] Standards To Develop A Better Way To Get Higher Fleet Mileage Without Market Distortions. 'What does this mean for Detroit? Well, it means that the automotive fleet will have to become more fuel efficient. CAFE improved mileage initially, but the consumer has gotten around it over the last couple of decades. CAFE has some real problems. It distorts the market. It penalizes the domestic automakers. It can ignore technical realities. So before I would change the CAFE standards, I want to sit down with every major knowledgeable party and evaluate each of the alternatives. A good number have been proposed; let's decide which is the best course by looking at the data and analysis, rather than by playing to the TV cameras Let's not forget that a far more fuel efficient fleet must be part of our energy future. The issue is which is the least distorting way to achieve it.'" Feb. 7, 2007 Mitt Romney Top    Smith, Christine (3rd/I) - Con Christine Smith, a Libertarian candidate and a social and political activist, stated in a Feb. 27, 2008 email to ProCon.org: "No." Feb. 27, 2008 Christine Smith Top      Tancredo, Tom (R) - None Found   Withdrew on Dec. 20, 2007; no position found as of that date Top      Thompson, Fred (R) - None Found     No position found as of Jan. 9, 2008. ProCon.org also emailed the Thompson campaign on Dec. 13, 2007 with this question. They did not respond to our email.   Top      Thompson, Tommy (R) - None Found   Withdrew on Sep. 12, 2007; no position found as of that date Top      Vilsack, Tom (D) - None Found   Withdrew on Feb. 23, 2007; no position found as of that date

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