The road to making Detroit automakers meet tougher fuel efficiency standards just got a little longer under the gavel of Speaker Nancy Pelosi. No one in their right mind is disputing that drastic increases in vehicle fuel efficiency are needed if the twin problems of foreign oil dependency and global warming are to be ameliorated (don't believe me, ask the National Petroleum Council). Ms Pelosi just said no to
Rep. Edward Markey's (D-MA) bill that would mandate a 35 mpg improvement in
CAFE standards for both cars and light trucks by 2019. That's only an average 10 mpg improvement in 12 years. Yet the industry continues to whine about costs and shrinking market share. They said the same things when seat belts, crash bumpers, and air bags were required by law. The godesslike powers of Ms. Pelosi are not to tampered with, however. She said she prefers the Senate bill which is a weaker compromise desired by lobbying automakers. The Senate leaves it to regulators to decide what energy efficiency standards are to be met by industry after 2020. So industry lobbyists can haunt the halls of DOT and EPA instead of Capitol Hill--away from the glare of TV lights and prying reporters. The Senate did away with the original requirement that automakers achieve annual 4% increases after 2020. Plug in hybrid owners and alternative fuel producers also lost a $29 billion tax incentive
package as part of the compromise wanted by the money power.
That's Senate Majority Leader Reid using his government supplied Chevrolet Suburban (arrow) to cross the street (longer arrow) on Capitol Hill to attend a press conference. The Suburban weighs an enormous 3 tons and has an EPA rating of 15 mpg/city. The odds of an effective piece of legislation surviving the conference process where powerful industry advocate and House Energy Committee Chairman Rep. John Dingell is waiting to pounce just got longer too. Thanks for your inspired leadership Ms. Pelosi, and my, don't you look ravishing today with your big hammer.
package as part of the compromise wanted by the money power.