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Politics

Congress toughens fuel economy rules

President Bush is expected to sign the energy bill today.

By Los Angeles Times
Published December 19, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Soon you won't find 100-watt incandescent lightbulbs in stores. You will be able to buy more energy-efficient appliances. And you will see labels on TVs and computers that tell you how much energy they consume.

Automakers will face the first congressional increase in vehicle fuel-economy standards in 32 years. You will see stickers on new cars that specify miles per gallon and greenhouse gas emissions. And you will fill your car with a mixture of gasoline and made-in-the-USA biofuel.

These are ways that the energy bill that Congress passed Tuesday will affect everyday life. President Bush is scheduled to sign it today.

Although the tougher miles-per-gallon rules have grabbed the headlines, the bill includes a number of lower-profile measures aimed at reducing U.S. dependence on oil and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

The House approved the measure 314-100 on Tuesday, and the Senate approved it last week, 86-8. In addition to the 40 percent increase in fuel efficiency for new cars and light trucks by 2020, for a fleetwide average of 35 mpg, the bill requires a sixfold increase -- to 36-billion gallons -- in the amount of alternative home-grown fuels, such as ethanol, that must be added to the nation's gasoline supply by 2022.

Democrats said the fuel economy requirements -- when the fleet of gas-miser vehicles are widely on the road -- eventually will save motorists $700 to $1,000 a year in fuel costs. They maintain the overall bill, including more ethanol use and various efficiency requirements and incentives, will reduce U.S. oil demand by 4-million barrels a day by 2030, more than twice the daily imports from the volatile Persian Gulf.

"This is a choice between yesterday and tomorrow" on energy policy, said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. "It's groundbreaking in what it will do."

Energy analysts project that, although the tougher miles-per-gallon rules will increase the price of a vehicle an estimated $1,500, consumers will save $5,000 in fuel costs over the life of the vehicle once the new standards are fully implemented.

Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada acknowledged that they didn't get all they wanted: a tax package that would have rolled back $13.5-billion in tax breaks for oil companies and used the money to help spur wind, solar and biomass energy development, and conservation programs.

Some concerns

Not everyone agrees about the benefits to consumers.

"The vehicles that are going to meet this 35-mile-per-gallon standard in the year 2020 are probably going to cost $10,000 to $15,000 more than they do today," Rep. Joe L. Barton of Texas, the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said during the House debate. Barton also complained that the bill would raise the cost of homes, appliances and even light bulbs.

Lowell Ungar, director of policy at the Alliance to Save Energy, a Washington coalition of business, consumer, environmental and government leaders, said that more energy-efficient lightbulbs would be more expensive, but consumers would, over the long run, save money on their utility bills.

Food industry groups warn that the mandate for increased production of home-grown fuel, including corn-based ethanol, could drive up food prices. Scott Faber of the Grocery Manufacturers Association said the renewable fuel standard "won't give us cheaper gas, but it will give us costlier meat, milk and eggs."

Another point of concern is an emphasis on cellulosic ethanol, made from such feedstock as switchgrass and wood chips, after 2015.

However, commercially viable production of cellulosic ethanol has yet to be proven, and some Republicans have argued that the new requirements could be impossible to meet.

The bill does allows for a waiver if producers are unable to meet the federal requirement for cellulosic ethanol.

"We have every confidence that we can meet the target," said Matt Hartwig, a spokesman for the Renewable Fuels Association, which represents ethanol producers.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Energy bill highlights

Car mileage: Requires automakers to increase the fuel economy of cars and small trucks, including SUVs, by 40 percent to an industry average of 35 miles per gallon by 2020. The current standard is 25 mpg.

Renewable motor fuels: Mandates a sixfold increase in the use of ethanol as a motor fuel to 36-billion gallons a year by 2022, with 21-billion gallons to be cellulosic ethanol from such feedstock as prairie grass and wood chips.

Energy efficiency: Requires more energy efficient lighting and appliances including refrigerators and dishwashers, and more energy efficient federal and commercial buildings. Also requires faster approval of federal energy efficiency standards.

Associated Press

How they voted

The Energy Independence and Security Act passed the House 314-100 on Tuesday, following the Senate's approval last week. President Bush is expected to sign it into law today .

• Gus Bilirakis, R-Palm Harbor YES
• Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Brooksville YES
• Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota YES
• Kathy Castor, D-Tampa YES
• Adam Putnam, R-Bartow YES
• C.W. Bill Young, R-Indian Shores YES

[Last modified December 19, 2007, 07:08:09]