Congress is now within reach of a breakthrough energy bill
that would reduce both
Success would earn them the gratitude of a country that
badly needs a rational energy strategy.
The bill's centerpiece, negotiated over the weekend by House
leaders, is the first meaningful increase in fuel efficiency standards for cars
and light trucks, including S.U.V.'s, in more than 30 years. The provision
would raise average fuel economy standards from 25 miles per gallon today to 35
miles per gallon in 2020. It would eventually save about 1.1 million barrels of
oil per day, one-half of current imports from the
A similar provision was approved by the Senate last summer.
That the House has now accepted it is a tribute to the persistence of Ed Markey
of Massachusetts, an unrelenting champion of fuel efficiency; the negotiating
skills of Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker; and a statesmanlike willingness to
compromise on the part of John Dingell, the powerful Michigan Democrat who
realized that it was no longer plausible to defend all of Detroit's demands in
the face of $90 a barrel oil.
The bill includes several other important provisions. One
calls for a big increase in the production and distribution of advanced forms
of ethanol from sources other than corn. With strong environmental safeguards,
this provision could reduce both oil consumption and greenhouse gases.
Another critical provision -- the renewable electricity
standard -- would require utilities to generate 15 percent of their power by
2020 from a combination of improved efficiency and renewable energy sources
like wind and solar.
This is the most vulnerable part of the bill. Senator Pete
Domenici, an influential Republican voice on energy issues, is vowing to fight
it, even though he has voted for similar provisions before and his own state of
The White House is also opposed and has hinted that President Bush would veto the entire bill if the renewable electricity provision survives. Torpedoing this bill would make it harder to address the problem of global warming, while leaving this country ever more dependent on foreign oil. Mr. Bush and Mr. Domenici should not stand in the way.
