RAAM Act to Eliminate CAFE Standards Cosponsored by Hyde-Smith

March 3, 2025 — U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) has signed on as a cosponsor of the Restoring Affordability in Automobile Manufacturing (RAAM) Act, a legislative push to scrap the 50-year-old Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards that critics say have inflated vehicle prices and paved the way for backdoor electric-vehicle mandates.

The bill, introduced by Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) as S.5092, would phase out CAFE regulations starting with model year 2029. According to Hyde-Smith, the standards have strayed far from their 1975 origins—a response to the OPEC oil embargo—and now serve as a regulatory cudgel for climate policy.

“Over the past 50 years, the CAFE standards have morphed into a big government weapon for regulators to push radical climate agendas and drive vehicle prices up. The Biden administration tried to use it as a club to force EVs on everyone. The RAAM Act would put an end to this government overreach and allow consumers and auto manufacturers to set the market,” Hyde-Smith said in a statement.

Affordability at the core

The RAAM Act arrives amid growing consumer frustration with rising new-car costs. A 2024 analysis by the Center for Automotive Research estimated that CAFE compliance adds roughly $1,500 to the average sticker price—costs that fall disproportionately on middle- and lower-income households. Supporters argue that removing the regulatory burden would let automakers focus on what buyers actually want, rather than chasing ever-higher miles-per-gallon targets.

The bill would also eliminate the legal foundation for future administrations to reimpose strict fuel economy rules. This preemptive move comes after the Trump administration reversed the Biden-era CAFE standards through an executive order in January 2025. But executive orders can be rescinded by a successor; a full statutory repeal would permanently bar regulators from reinstating similar mandates.

“The RAAM Act is the only way to ensure that no White House can weaponize CAFE again,” said a senior aide on Crapo’s staff. “It locks in affordability and consumer choice for the long haul.”

Broad GOP backing, industry support

Alongside Hyde-Smith and Crapo, the bill is cosponsored by Senators Jim Risch (R‑Idaho), Rick Scott (R‑Fla.), Pete Ricketts (R‑Neb.), and Alan Armstrong (R‑Okla.). The American Petroleum Institute has formally endorsed the legislation, citing the harmful impact of fuel economy rules on energy production and refining.

Hyde-Smith’s involvement continues a pattern of opposition to the Biden administration’s climate-driven auto regulations. In January 2024, she joined Crapo in urging the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to withdraw the proposed CAFE rule. And in July 2024, she was part of a Mississippi congressional delegation effort to overturn what they called a de facto electric mandate on heavy-duty trucks and buses.

Environmental concerns persist

Not everyone supports the rollback. Environmental groups warn that killing CAFE standards would increase gasoline consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. A report from the Union of Concerned Scientists projects that eliminating the rules could add about 20 million metric tons of CO₂ annually by 2035—equivalent to the emissions from 4.5 million passenger vehicles.

“The RAAM Act is a gift to Big Oil and a blow to families who will pay more at the pump,” said Sierra Club spokesperson Elena Craft. “Fuel economy standards have saved drivers billions in fuel costs over the decades. Removing them is short-sighted and dangerous for the climate.”

Proponents counter that the shift toward electric vehicles, driven by consumer preference and technological innovation, will continue organically without regulatory coercion. “Americans are already voting with their wallets for more fuel-efficient options,” Hyde-Smith noted. “We don’t need the government picking winners and losers.”

What’s next

The RAAM Act now heads to the Senate Commerce Committee, where a hearing is expected later this spring. With Republicans controlling the chamber and the White House, the bill’s path to the floor is clearer than it would have been under a Democratic administration. However, Democrats—and some moderate Republicans wary of rolling back all efficiency standards—could move to amend the legislation, potentially preserving a lighter version of CAFE or replacing it with a less stringent fuel economy framework.

For now, Hyde-Smith and her colleagues are framing the bill as a straightforward affordability measure. “The RAAM Act is about putting money back in the pockets of American families,” she said. “It’s time to end the decades of government overreach and let the market work.”