The EPA, NHTSA, and the Multiple Streams drive climate policy outcome

Abstract

ABSTRACT Although United States environmental policy is frequently being decided in administrative agencies, it is unclear what factors influence policy outcomes. Some limited scholarship has explored whether the Multiple Streams Framework (MSF) used for congressional policymaking can be used to explain rulemaking outcomes. This research explores the validity of the MSF via a case study of the controversial 2017 and Later Model Year Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards Rule (CAFE Standards Rule) jointly published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). This research relies on original interviews with 30 agency staff and stakeholders to conclude that the model is helpful in understanding why these agencies produced the policy they did. However, the results here illustrate the importance of understanding the role and impact of the political stream on outcomes earlier in the process than outlined by previous scholars. Thus, when analyzing controversial regulatory outcomes, the policy and political stream may have to converge as early as the pre-proposal stage to ensure a rule is finalized.