The Bush administration organized a stealth lobbying campaign, with the auto industry’s help, to oppose California’s ... fuel economy standards ....

Bush administration pushed states to lobby against California fuel rules | House Democratic chairman will hold hearings | September 24, 2007 | By JUSTIN HYDE | FREE PRESS WASHINGTON STAFF

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration organized a stealth lobbying campaign, with the auto industry’s help, to oppose California’s effort to set fuel economy standards, the chairman of the House Oversight committee said Monday.

In a letter to the top White House environmental official, U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., asked the administration to repudiate the lobbying, saying it should have made its objections public rather than leaning on members of Congress and state governors to oppose California’s rules. Waxman has scheduled a committee hearing on the issue for Tuesday.
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Waxman said Peters and other officials should have made their opposition public rather than trying to work behind the scenes. Waxman also said the campaign could raise legal questions, noting that Republicans have said in the past that federal officials were barred from lobbying lawmakers.

“It is not an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars to organize a lobbying campaign to politicize this vital regulatory decision,” Waxman said in a letter to James Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

Waxman said the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the trade group that includes General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., Chrysler and Toyota, gave a list of plants to Transportation department officials to help them target lawmakers and governors.