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US lawmakers back energy bill to reduce oil consumption
Washington (AFP) Dec 14, 2007 The United States was poised to adopt measures to reduce its dependence on foreign oil after the Senate on Thursday passed a bill that would raise fuel efficiency rules for vehicles and boost ethanol production. The bill won overwhelming support from both parties in 86-8 vote but only after the Democratic majority dropped disputed provisions that would have cut billions of dollars worth of tax breaks to oil companies. The majority also removed a requirement that 15 percent of US electricity come from renewable, environmentally-friendly sources by 2020. The energy bill would require the auto industry to reduce fuel consumption in most cars and light trucks by 40 percent, raising the fuel efficiency standard to 35 miles per gallon (15 kilometers per liter) by 2020. The current Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard is around 27.5 miles per gallon for cars and just over 22 miles per gallon for light trucks. The speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, said after the Senate vote that the watered-down bill would be backed by House lawmakers next week and predicted President George W. Bush would sign it. "The House will pass this remarkable legislation next week. I am hopeful that President Bush will sign it," she said. But Senator Hillary Clinton, a top contender for the Democratic party's presidential nomination, and others criticized Bush and his fellow Republicans for opposing the earlier version of the bill. "Unfortunately, President Bush and Senate Republicans stopped this from being an even better bill. They blocked our efforts to include a provision to require utilities to generate 15 percent of our electricity from wind, solar and other renewable sources by 2020," Clinton said. "Republicans also chose to stand with oil companies and against American consumers. They blocked our efforts to begin to fix our broken energy tax system by repealing tax breaks for big oil companies and putting those funds towards clean energy," she said. Pressure for action on energy policy has been mounting as Americans become increasingly frustrated at rising gasoline prices amid warnings that the United States must wean itself of foreign oil from the unstable Middle East. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com
Another Oil Bounty For Brazil
Miami (UPI) Dec 14, 2007 Brazil's Tupi oil field -- estimated to contain as much as 8 billion barrels of oil -- could quite possibly have an even bigger deposit right next to it, experts said this week. |
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