The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation today approved the first vehicle fuel economy act in 16 years.
S. 357, the Ten-in-Ten Fuel Economy Act, would revise corporate average fuel economy standards to achieve a nationwide fleet average of 35 miles per gallon by the year 2020. The bill also would create, for the first time, fuel economy standards for medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks, and would provide the Secretary of Transportation expanded authority to prescribe and enforce fuel economy standards.
Said Chairman Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii), “In the last sixteen years, our passenger car and light truck fleets have been virtually frozen in terms of fuel economy savings, while the effects of global warming have become more pronounced and the oil exporting regions of the world have become more hostile and more unstable.”
“Ten-in-Ten mandates the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to increase the fuel economy of the nationwide fleet of passenger cars and light trucks to 35 mpg by 2020, and then continue to improve fuel economy by four percent per year for the next ten years. For the first time, medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks will be subject to fuel economy standards, which will address a significant sector in transportation fuel use. The legislation also gives NHTSA the flexibility it needs to configure the CAFE program to achieve the maximum fuel savings while ensuring the stability of the automotive industry. This aggressive but thoughtful approach will move fuel economy forward. Consumers will spend less at the pump and the nation will be a more secure place.”
Gasoline demand accounts for nearly half of the average daily US consumption of 20.9 million barrels of oil. The Senate bill, proponents say, would save 2.1 million barrels of gasoline and other auto fuel per day by 2025. That is roughly the amount of refined products the US imports now.
The measure, Democrats estimate, would also reduce tailpipe emissions by 18 percent.
Sen. Daniel Inouye, the Commerce Committee chairman, said the proposal was not perfect but “we’ve reached a stage where most parties would say this is fair.” He said the full Senate could take up the bill in June.
Light trucks must get 24 mpg by 2011 while cars must currently average 27.5 mpg. The truck standard was changed last year. The passenger car requirement has not been updated for nearly 20 years.
The US House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee is working on a similar bill, which could emphasize alternative fuels over straight savings via the federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program, the road taken by the Senate.
Major auto manufacturers call the Senate plan unworkable, saying the Transportation Department estimates compliance costs alone could exceed US$114 billion before the next decade is out.
Domestic giants like General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., and DaimlerChrysler AG’s Chrysler Group would bear the brunt of those costs as their fleet mix is weighted toward SUVs, pickups and minivans, which get far lower gas mileage than popular sedans made by Japanese rivals like Toyota Motor Corp..
But big Asian manufacturers also have concerns with the legislation since they are stepping up production of bigger SUVs and pickups.
Loading...