WASHINGTON -- Senate Democrats introduced legislation on Friday to increase the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard while also closing the loophole that allows sport-utility vehicles to get lower gasoline mileage than cars under the regulations.
The bill, which aims to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil by cutting back on gasoline use, would require both types of vehicles to average 35 miles per gallon by 2013. Currently, the federal CAFE standards require passenger cars to average 27.5 mpg, while sport-utility vehicles, along with mini-vans and other vehicles in the "light truck" category, need only get 20.7 mpg.
Gasoline demand accounts for 45 percent of the 19.8 million barrels of oil that is consumed daily in the American market. Half of that oil is imported.
The bill's sponsors, Sens. Ernest Hollings (D-SC) and John Kerry (D-MA), will try to move the legislation through the Senate Commerce Committee next week, a congressional staff member told Reuters.
Light trucks were allowed to attain lower mileage when Congress passed the CAFE law in the mid-1970s because they were used mainly by farmers and small businesses at the time. Now, SUVs and other light trucks account for half of U.S. vehicle sales.
The legislation would slowly increase the fuel-efficiency requirements for both cars and light trucks. But beginning in 2010, SUVs and minivans would be taken out of the light truck category and put in the passenger car group.
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) plans to offer a competing CAFE plan to the Senate panel. McCain introduced legislation late on Thursday that would require an average fuel economy for the U.S. fleet of 36 mpg by 2016. Higher fuel requirements would be phased in beginning with the 2007 model year. McCain's bill would combine light trucks and SUVs with passenger cars when calculating the U.S. fleet's fuel economy, thereby eliminating the SUV loophole. His legislation would allow automakers to trade greenhouse gas emission credits with other industries to help meet the higher CAFE requirements.
Automakers are worried a significant boost in mileage requirements would force them to make more expensive, light-weight vehicles that they claim would be less safe.
Whatever CAFE standard the Senate Commerce Committee approves will be included in a broad energy bill the Senate will begin debating next week.
However, higher fuel requirements might not make it beyond the Senate floor if Republicans and Democrats are not able to resolve their differences over both the standards and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Senate Democrats want to keep ANWR closed to drilling to protect the environment, while Republicans want to use the refuge's potential 16 billion barrels of crude to lower reliance on foreign oil supplies.
Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, told Reuters he could accept the 35 mpg fuel standard, but he was worried the combination of higher CAFE requirements and ANWR drilling would doom the energy bill altogether.
The Senate would also have to work out differences on energy policy with the House of Representatives. The House passed its own version of a broad energy bill last August that would allow drilling in the Arctic refuge and increase the vehicle mileage requirements only by about 1 mpg.
