Bush to sign energy bill Wednesday
By David Shepardson
December 18, 2007
WASHINGTON -- The House approved a stripped-down energy bill Tuesday and sent it to President George Bush, who is expected to sign the legislation.
The bill, which passed 314-100, includes a historic increase in fuel efficiency requirements for the nation's automobiles, requiring a 40 percent increase to a fleet-wide, industry average of 35 miles per gallon by 2020.
The Detroit News has learned that President Bush will sign the bill on Wednesday at a ceremony at the Energy Department in Washington. The signing will be attended by cabinet officials, including Transportation Secretary Mary Peters and members of Congress.
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The bill will require 36 billion gallons of biofuels, primarily corn-based ethanol, by 2022, which is more than five times the current level. The bill also requires dramatic increases in the efficiency of the nation's appliances, including freezers, dishwashers, refrigerators, washers and dryers. It requires the phase-out of traditional incandescent light bulbs.
But the biggest change is to the Corporate Average Fuel Economy program, which gets its first increase for passenger car requirements in more than two decades. In 1975, when Congress created the CAFE program, it required the nation's automakers to increase passenger car fuel efficiency from 13 miles per gallon to 2.5 miles per gallon over a decade. The current requirement remains at 27.5 mpg for passenger cars and 22.2 mpg for light trucks.
In 2006, the Bush Administration increased light-trucks requirements to 24 mpg by 2012. A federal appeals court threw out the rules last month, saying the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which sets the standards, did not go far enough.
The 822-page energy bill requires NHTSA to set the actual yearly requirements, beginning with the 2011 model year. NHTSA will have to issue its new requirements by April 2009, to give automakers time to prepare. NHTSA will also have to create new rules for work trucks -- defined as trucks between 8,500 and 10,000 pounds, and medium- and heavy-duty trucks. The first-ever regulations for the largest trucks will take effect in 2016.
NHTSA will have to create a new attribute-based system for passenger cars, setting requirements based on size. It is not clear what the overall requirements will be for light trucks and passenger cars, but some have suggested around 40 mpg for passenger cars and 30 mpg for light trucks. Depending on the size of an automaker fleet's, they will have to meet a different overall average. Honda and Toyota might have to average as high as 38 mpg or 39 mpg because they make fewer larger trucks and SUVs than Detroit's Big Three automakers.
Democrats say the new fuel efficiency requirements will save drivers $22 billion annually by 2020. It is estimated to reduce oil use by 1.1 million barrels annually and reduce federal gasoline taxes paid by Americans by $2 billion over 10 years. It will result in more hybrids, diesel and advanced technology vehicles. The mix of lighter vehicles with smaller engines will also increase, experts say.
To win the support in the Senate, Democrats stripped way two key provisions: a requirement that by 2020 utilities produced 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources like wind, solar or trash combustion, and $21.8 billion in taxes to pay for incentives for renewable resources. Most of the funding would have come from stripping away $12 billion in planned tax breaks for oil companies over the next decade.
"This is basically a no energy bill," said Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, listing a litany of problems with the bill, including the fact that the technology doesn't exist to produce enough ethanol required by 2022. He predicted that autos would increase in price by 10 percent to 15 percent as a result of the increase in fuel efficiency standards.
The Bush Administration said earlier this year a similar fuel economy is likely to cost the auto industry $114 billion over 10 years, with Detroit's Big Three paying $85 billion. General Motors Corp. has said the $40 billion government estimate is "probably low" and could add as much as $5,000 per vehicle.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the bill "earth shattering."
Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, said the bill's passage was a "glimmer of hope that we will be able to get beyond the gridlock."
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