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Bush's 20-10 Energy
Plan Sets Laudable Efficiency Goals; Administration, Congress Must
Collaborate to Make Them Real
WASHINGTON D.C., Jan.
24 /Alliance to Save Energy/ -- President Bush's State of the Union
address set important and laudable goals for decreased gasoline
consumption to be achieved in part through increasing the fuel
economy of passenger and light duty vehicles. The goal is set; the
challenge now is to establish the programs and policies that will
translate the goal into reality. The next, most important and
perhaps most difficult step is for the administration and Congress
to work together - post haste and on a bipartisan basis - to codify
new CAFE standards that can ensure realization of the gas savings
sought by the President, said Alliance President Kateri Callahan.
"We commend the President for committing to reduce our gasoline
consumption by 5 percent by increasing CAFE standards," Callahan
continued. "But we urge the administration to pursue a course of
action that will expedite establishment of these long-overdue and
much needed increases in fuel economy standards.
"The most direct route to increasing fuel economy - and to
protecting our national energy, environmental, and economic security
- is for the administration and Congress to work together to
establish, through law, specific CAFE increases for cars and light
trucks," Callahan said. "Asking Congress only for the authority to
have the Secretary of Transportation 'develop a plan' is a too
circuitous, time-consuming, and uncertain route to realizing a goal
that multiple studies indicate is very achievable in the near term."
Noting that car and light truck fuel economy is down to 24.6 miles
per gallon from its 1987-88 peak of 25.9 mpg, Callahan added, "We
could save roughly 1 million barrels of oil per day just by
increasing fleet-wide fuel economy by only 2 mpg, which we could
easily do with currently available technologies."
For further information:
Ronnie Kweller: 202-530-2203 (office); 202-276-9327 (mobile)
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The Alliance to Save Energy is a coalition of prominent business,
government, environmental, and consumer leaders who promote the
efficient and clean use of energy worldwide to benefit consumers,
the environment, economy, and national security.
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