By John CrawleyWASHINGTON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Wednesday pledged transparency in setting standards to boost auto fuel efficiency and cut tailpipe emissions, countering claims that a landmark agreement securing automaker support for its environmental initiative was secretive.The agreement reached in July is the foundation of a planned rule requiring that new cars sold in the United States nearly double average fuel efficiency by 2025 to 54.5 miles per gallon. The administration said the formal regulation was a work in progress and would provide opportunity for outside input."The deal is not done," David Strickland, an administration pointman on the rules told a congressional committee investigating how White House, transportation and environmental officials came up with a plan with auto companies for a 40 percent gain in fuel efficiency by the middle of the next decade.Regina McCarthy, a senior Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official who appeared with Strickland before a House Oversight subcommittee, also said her agency and Strickland's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) were involved in an "extensive public process" supported by auto industry executives and others.NHTSA and EPA have delayed a joint formal proposal of new fuel rules until mid-November. They hope to finalize the standards in mid-2012, giving automakers the regulatory certainty they want in order to craft product plans.The Oversight panel has sought documents and other information from the two agencies and automakers involved in negotiations that produced the agreement with automakers.If met, that target beginning in 2017 would require a 5 percent annual fuel efficiency improvement for cars and yearly gains of 3.5 to 5 percent for light trucks, which include sport utilities, pickups and vans.U.S. automakers traditionally have favored heavier, bigger trucks and truck-like vehicles and have lagged in fuel efficiency, while Japanese rivals have concentrated on smaller cars and got a jump on gasoline/electric hybrid technology.Congressional investigators led by Republican Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa of California want to know whether closed-door negotiations with auto executives on fuel and emissions standards skirted the law."This is not how the process is supposed to work," Issa said in a Sept. 30 letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, whose agency oversees NHTSA.Issa also questioned an agreement by automakers to not challenge any final rule in court, and the role played by regulators from his home state in forging an agreement.California can exert leverage over environmental rulemaking because of its size, potent consumer market and political strength, and powerful drive to curb greenhouse emissions.Jeremy Anwyl, chief executive of online auto research group Edmunds.com, told the panel that the administration was heavy-handed with industry in the fuel negotiations."The expression I hear repeatedly is that they had a gun to their head," Anwyl said.Strickland said he could "not speak to the state of mind" of industry executives but said meetings with automakers, suppliers, environmental groups and the United Auto Workers (UAW) were critical for developing the outline for a new rule.Thirteen auto companies, including General Motors Co , Ford Motor Co , Chrysler , Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co , agreed to the plan.Automakers have said they were not pressured by the Obama administration to reach an agreement although they resisted an initial push for a 62 mpg standard.The U.S. government at the time had unique leverage over GM and Chrysler, having bailed out both companies in 2009. The administration also has approved substantial loans for Ford and Nissan to retool factories for making more fuel efficient vehicles.
