©2025 League of Conservation Voters
1977 Scorecard Vote
48
43
5
Issues
(S 252A). The vote is on the Griffin amendment to delete provisions requiring that the Nitrogen Oxide Standards for auto emissions be reduced to .4 gram per mile by 1983. Instead cars would be allowed to emit up to 1 gram of NOx per mile. Griffin’s amendments gutted Senator Hart’s amendment, which would have penalized cars that emitted more than .4 grams per mile and rewarded purchasers with rebates if their cars achieved better than the Act’s standards for all three pollutants (carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides). Griffin removed these provisions, leaving only a study on the health impact and feasibility of the .4 NOx standard. Environmentalists opposed the Griffin amendment because NOx is already known to be a major source of lung and respiratory disease. The Carter Administration had endorsed the original Committee bill which contained the weaker NOx standard, but did not lobby specifically on the Griffin or Hart amendments. Adopted 51-43. June 8, 1977. No is the correct vote.
©2025 League of Conservation Voters