WASHINGTON, (AP) -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, anticipating
final congressional action on energy legislation next week, said the bill will
"put
In remarks prepared for the Democrats' weekly radio address
on Saturday, Pelosi noted that the bill will require, for the first time in 32
years, an increase in automobile fuel efficiency to an average of 35 miles per
gallon by 2020.
That, along with a requirement to use more ethanol as a
motor fuel, "will strengthen our national security, protect consumers from
spiraling energy prices, create jobs and ... tell the world that America is
prepared to become a leader in addressing the global climate crisis," said
Pelosi, D-Calif.
The energy legislation was passed by the Senate on Thursday
and still awaits final House action, although the House approved similar
language earlier this month. Approval is a foregone conclusion, Pelosi
suggested, and the White House has said President Bush will sign it.
"Congress has acted to put
In addition to the higher fuel economy, the Senate-passed
bill also requires an increase of ethanol use to 36 billion gallons a year by
2022, a nearly sixfold increase over expected 2007 production. It also requires
new efficiency standards for appliances, light bulbs and commercial buildings.
But Democrats were stymied in an attempt to pass a tax
package that would have rolled back $13.5 billion in oil company tax breaks and
funneled billions of dollars into tax incentives for renewable energy
development and efficiency programs.
The White House and Senate Republicans had opposed the tax measures, which previously passed the House, and Democrats fell one vote short of overcoming a GOP filibuster.
