WASHINGTON, May 3 (UPI) -- The outcry over gasoline prices has prompted U.S. legislatures to revamp current fuel economy standards, which have been left unchanged for the past two decades.
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce took up the matter Wednesday at the behest of U.S. President George W. Bush, who last week called on Congress to raise fuel economy standards so consumers can deal with an increased in gas prices that have reached more than $3 a gallon.
"To confront high gasoline prices is to promote greater fuel efficiency," Bush said last week in a speech before the Renewable Fuels Association in Washington. "The easiest way to promote fuel efficiency is to encourage drivers to purchase highly efficient hybrid or clean diesel vehicles, which...can run on alternative energy sources."
Under the current law, average passenger cars are manufactured to carry 27.5 miles a gallon. However, Bush is seeking to replace the current standard by assigning mileage standards based on size, instead of a firm fleetwide target. Even with reforms, automakers will not be able to make changes to passenger cars for another 18 months, Norman Mineta, U.S. Transportation Secretary, said at Wednesday's hearing.
Mineta explained that the administration has been "pushing for fuel economy change," but that revamping the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards was "not a quick fix."
"We are saddled with 18 months to begin with and then to make this study. It is a very, very tight schedule," said Mineta. "It will be a very difficult time. Our response to the CAFE standards is not a short-term response...(It) always has been a long-term response."
Mineta made the case before the committee to apply new fuel economy standards to passenger cars in order to boost fuel economy in vehicles and reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. The administration has the power to make changes to the law and present it to Congress for a vote, but it is seeking broader authority to allow the U.S. Department of Transportation to reform fuel economy standards.
Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., is suggesting a similar plan that would abolish the disctinction between passenger vehicles and SUVs requiring a fleetwide average of 33 mpg. The Republican congressman estimates that it would save 2.6 million barrels of oil a day by 2025, nearly a third of the current consumption for cars and light trucks.
But members of the committee were quick to point out that despite needed reform on fuel economy, it would do little to actually change the gas prices at the pumps.
"We may need to go farther," Joe Barton, R-Texas, chairman of the committee suggested. "Aside from giving DOT the authority to set passenger fuel economy standards, I also want NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) to take a hard look at reforming the entire structure of mileage estimates for passenger cars.
"The current, outdated system hampers the potential for energy savings, raises the vehicle safety concerns, and fails to treat competitive players fairly."
In March, the Department of Transportation announced it would revise fuel economy standards in light trucks to increase from 21.6 miles to 24 miles per gallon. The administration says the 2.4-mile capacity increase would save 10.7 billion gallons of fuel for the some of the largest SUVs. By including SUVs, which weigh between 8,500 and 10,000 pounds, 250 million gallons a year would be saved. Large vehicles will be included in the CAFE program starting in 2011.
With the current increase in oil prices, U.S. automakers are also seeing a decline in sales as buyers are switching to more fuel-efficient models manufactured by Asian rivals. Sales at General Motors fell 11 percent, as did Ford Motors at 6.6 percent and Chrysler Daimler at 8 percent. However, Toyota and Honda Motors, Japan's biggest car manufactures in the United States, gained 8.5 percent and 6.5 percent. Despite the slowdown in the sales of SUVs like the Ford Explorer, which declined by 42 percent, its hybrid vehicle doubled sales from its previous month.
"We know that fuel economy is an important issue for consumers, and every tenth of a gallon improvement counts," said Mark LaNeve, General Motors North America vice president of Vehicle Sales. "We worked hard during the development of our new large utilities to squeeze out every possible once of fuel savings, and the result was the best fuel economy in the segment. Combine this with the E85 capability of these vehicles, which reduces America's dependence on oil, and you've got a significant, measurable benefit for all consumers."
The draft bill under consideration will give NHTSA the authority to set gasoline mileage standards for cars is expected to be taken up for a vote by the full committee next week.
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