President Signs Energy Bill
President Bush has signed a
comprehensive energy bill that raises fuel-economy standards and
requires a significant increase in biofuels production.
The new law is "a major step toward reducing our dependence on oil,
confronting global climate change, expanding production of renewable
fuels and giving future generations a nation that is stronger, cleaner
and more secure," the president said.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the legislation (H.R. 6)
with a 314 to 100 vote on Dec. 18, and the U.S. Senate approved the
legislation last week. The new law also establishes new efficiency
requirements for household appliances and government buildings and
contains a provision to phase out incandescent light bulbs within the
According to analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS),
the law's fuel-economy and renewable-fuel standards combined will save
the country 2.3 million barrels of oil a day in 2020, more than what
the United States currently imports from the Persian Gulf. The
fuel-economy provisions alone will create 149,300 jobs and save
consumers $22 billion at the pump every year starting in 2020, even
after paying for the fuel-saving technology needed to meet the
standards. In addition, the fuel-economy standards will prevent more
than 190 million metric tons of global warming emissions in 2020,
according to UCS.
"For too long, America has been starved for leadership on energy
policy. Congress has overcome the obstacles that have blocked progress
for more than 30 years. This law is a very significant, concrete and
long overdue step forward," said Kevin Knobloch, UCS president.
Critics contend that the new law will make cars and trucks more
expensive, divert farmland to costly production of feedstock for
ethanol and other synthetic fuels and raise the price of food due to
competition between food producers and fuel refiners for corn and grain.
According to the Competitive Enterprises Institute, more stringent
fuel-economy regulations for cars and light trucks, known as Corporate
Average Fuel Economy (CAFE), will make vehicles less crashworthy in
"Of all the questionable provisions in the current energy bill,
making CAFE more stringent is by far the worst. While the subsidies and
mandates will waste the taxpayers' money, this one will cost lives,"
said Sam Kazman, general counsel with the institute.
Supporters of the legislation said they were disappointed that the
measure does not contain a tax increase on oil companies and a
requirement that utilities produce 15 percent of their electricity from
renewable sources. The White House threatened to veto the measure, in
part, over the tax hike, and the Senate eliminated both provisions
before passing the legislation.
For more information on the new law, go to http://thomas.loc.gov, a Web site of the Library of Congress.