Major breakthrough on mileage requirements brokered by the Speaker:
The latest version of the measure, if it becomes law, will force wrenching changes on the American car companies, from design studios to new-car showrooms to executive suites. Automakers now have to achieve 27.5 miles per gallon on cars, a figure that has not changed since 1984, and 22.2 miles per gallon for light trucks, including minivans, sport utility vehicles and pickups. Under the compromise, the companies will retain the distinction between the classes of vehicles, but must still meet a combined 35 m.p.g. fleetwide standard.Kudos to Nancy Pelosi for wearing down Dingell and the automakers. By the way, Dingell's wife works for General Motors (okay, the foundation, but still).
Ms. Pelosi called the compromise on mileage “an historic advancement in our efforts in the Congress to address our energy security and laying strong groundwork for climate legislation next year.” She said that she was confident it would win the backing of environmentalists, auto makers and labor and would clear Congress by the end of this year.
Mr. Dingell, in a statement, called the new mileage standard “aggressive and attainable.”
“After weeks of productive discussion and negotiation, we have achieved consensus on several provisions that provide critical environmental safeguards without jeopardizing American jobs,” he said. Critical to his agreement, he said, were incentives to the American auto industry for producing small cars in the United States and cars that run on a combination of gasoline and ethanol.
The Big Three automakers have warned that complying with the new fuel economy rules will cost them tens of billions of dollars and rob consumers of choices. But even if they meet the law’s mandate, the fuel efficiency of the American car fleet will still lag far behind that of other major industrialized countries.
So, the U.S. automakers are going to increase fuel standards. This whole debate is pathetic. I started driving in 1976 -- 31 years ago. Look at all the advances in technology since 1976 (back before we had cable tv, cell phones, personal computers...the list goes on and on....) and realize that for the most part, your car still runs basically the same way. I rarely drive these days (have had my car for eight years and still haven't hit 30,000 miles). But, I get irritated every time I pump gas at just how archaic the whole system is. Unlike anything else I do, I pump gas the same way I did in 1976.
John Dingell and his allies on Capitol Hill have done the nation enormous damage. Don't tell me that with the technological geniuses this country produces that we couldn't be doing so much better than we are in the auto industry. Instead of saving the auto industry, Dingell has brought it to the brink of extinction. It's become a dinosaur, much like him.
Pelosi deserves a lot of credit, like I said, for staying on top of this one. It couldn't have been easy, but it is a step in the right direction.
