U.S. Lawmaker Seeks to Raise Fuel Standard to 40 mpg

Reuters Reported today that a US Congressional subcommittee Thursday will consider adding language to a energy efficiency and conservation bill that would significantly boost the fuel mileage of passenger cars, sport utility vehicles and other light trucks. Democratic Rep. Edward Markey of Massachusetts will ask lawmakers on the House energy and air quality subcommittee to adopt an amendment to the pending bill to raise the fuel standard of U.S. vehicles to 40 miles per gallon. If ultimately enacted into the law, the stronger standard would save consumers $10 billion in fuel costs a year and shave U.S. petroleum demand by 3 million barrels per day, according to a coalition of environmental groups who support Markey's amendment. The U.S. market consumes about 20 million barrels of petroleum a day. The current Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards that were approved by Congress in 1975 after the Arab oil embargo require passenger cars to get an average 27.5 miles per gallon and light trucks 20.7 miles. The subcommittee's chairman, Republican Rep. Joe Barton of Texas, has said he expects the final version of the energy bill to have some kind of "CAFE component," although he has not elaborated on a specific higher fuel standard. Republican Rep. Billy Tauzin of Louisiana, who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, also said his panel would likely consider the legislation with the higher fuel standard. The Bush administration is waiting for a CAFE study from the National Academy of Sciences to be released at the end of this month before deciding whether to seek a change in the fuel standards.