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Heavy-Duty Vehicle Fuel Economy and Global Warming Emissions Standards 

EPA/DOT Hearings- Draft Testimony 

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to testify before you on the proposed 

standards for the new EPA regulations on medium and heavy-duty truck 

greenhouse gas emissions and fuel efficiency standards. My name is Glenn Kunkel 

and I am a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and a member of Operation 

Free, a nationwide coalition of more than 5,000 veterans who advocate for securing 

America with clean energy. I applaud the Obama administration for proposing 

standards that will make our trucks cleaner and more efficient. I joined the military 

because I care deeply about our nation's security and stability. I am here today 

because along with a consensus of senior military and national security experts, I 

believe that we face a serious threat to our national security: dependency on oil. 

During my service in Ira q, as an advisor to the Iraqi Army, the logistics of fuel 

consumption were pivotal to our capabilities and security posture. The nature 

of the vehicles needed to establish tactical dominance were inefficie nt for 

susta ined operations in a ny environment, let alone a hostile environment. 

This para lle ls the economic necessities of our nation, in that such a vast 

portion of goods a re transported by truck. Just as we took numerous steps in 

Ira q to conserve a nd stretch our resources in order to accomplish our mission, 

similar steps should be taken to preserve a nd bolster the tra nsportation 

industry's efficiency to the point that our economic stability is less threatened. 

By mitigating our consumption of petroleum based fuels we a lso mitigate a 

number of disruptions to our domestic security and stability. Such as the 

amount of C02 that that is dispe rsed in the atmosphere, and the resulting 

disruptions caused by increasingly severe weather patterns. Another is the 

financial capabilities of globally-capable extremist groups, which often 

require US intervention. Most importa ntly, a cleaner, more sustainable and 

efficient United States is going to have to be established in order to ma intain 

our current global posture, both in security capabilities as well as in economic 

stability. 

[Insert your persona l reason for testifying. Use examples from your military 

experience or current position to show why you think reducing oil use and carbon 

emissions from trucks is important. This narrative will make your testimony 

memorable.] 

Although trucks are only 7% of the total number of vehicles on the roads, they 

consume 25% of fuel. This marks a significant percent of emissions relative to the 

number of trucks on the road. With these new regulations, we will save 1.8 billion 
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barrels of oil over the lifetime of the vehicles on the road-an important step in 

combatting oil dependency. 

Currently, oil is essential for the military to defend us. Everything from tanks to 

fighter jets to Humvees use oil, and deli vering it on the battlefield is a dangerous job. 

In Afghanistan, 1 in every 24 fuel convoys ended with a casualty; oil trade routes 

slow, scheduled, and frequent, making them easy targets for the enemy. These rules 

benefit the military because trucks won't have to refuel as frequently, which can be 

dangerous and costly in combat zones. Additionally, too much of our money for oil 

ends up in the hands of hostile countries and extremist fighters. 

There are economic problems with oil, too. Global supply cannot keep up with 

demand. The price will keep going up, hitting all of us at the pump. With this rule, 

vehicle owners will save an average of $170 billion in fuel costs over the lifetime of 

the vehicles sold. Increasing truck efficiency saves money, which will be reflected in 

the price of consumer goods. Furthermore, when the price of oil spikes, the military 

must repurpose funds away from training, maintenance, and readiness programs to 

offset the cost, putting missions at risk. 

Additionally, the use of fossil fuels increases the likelihood of more troops sent into 

harm's way. As the Department of Defense's recent Report on National Security 

Implications of Climate-Related Risks and a Changing Climate affirms, climate 

change is widely recognized as a "threat-multipli er." Frequent and severe weather 

events destabilize some of the world's most dangerous regions. This exacerbates 

existing national security threats by pushing already unstable states to nea r 

constant crisis. The United States is requested to respond to disasters every two 

weeks-a number likely to increase as the impacts of climate change become more 

acute. 

While these new EPA regulations make great strides to mitigate the impacts of 

carbon emissions-such as reducing GHG emissions by 1 bi llion metric tons over 

the life of vehicles on the road-we must take furth er measures to reduce our oil 

dependency in the interest of national security. Analysis shows that with modern 

engineering capabilities, stronger standards could reduce trucks' fuel use by 40% by 

2025. Continued progress in environmental standards made by the EPA are vital to 

the well-being of our nation and the global community. 

In raising our standards for greenhouse gas emissions and fuel effi ciency, we 

strengthen our national security by supporting the U.S. economy, increasing global 

stability, and sending fewer of our men and women into harm's way. Once again, I 

applaud the administration for proposing standards to make our trucks more 

efficient. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today.