The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has the dirt on the efforts of the big three — General Motors, Ford and Chrysler — to mislead the public about the benefits of improved fuel efficiency. The automakers are holding a public rally as part of lobbying efforts to persuade federal legislators to abandon proposed fuel efficiency reform, according to UCS.

The Senate has passed a bill that would strengthen the federal fuel efficiency program, known as CAFE standards. The House chose not to tackle the issue in its own energy legislation. However, Democratic leaders may push to include CAFE reform during conference proceedings before the final bill is sent to the president.

According to UCS, if the new standard was fully implemented, it would, among other things, "cut 206 million metric tons of global warming pollution in 2020 alone—equivalent to taking more than 30 million of today's average cars and trucks off the road."

But full implementation is far from a given. The Senate unwisely included a cost-benefit provision in its version of CAFE reform. Currently, the national minimum rate for fuel efficiency is a static 27.5 miles per gallon and remains as such regardless of monetized costs or benefits. The Senate bill would change that: The legislation would require regulators to prove a new standard's benefits outweigh its costs before regulating.

For more on the problems with the cost-benefit provision and why it may lead to watered-down standards, see the OMB Watch analysis "Cost-Benefit Provision Latches onto Fuel Economy Standard."

Bloomberg News columnist Cindy Skrzycki today writes about the White House delay of a rule that would protect the North Atlantic right whale. Under Executive Order 12866, OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) has 90 days to review regulations before they are finalized. In consultation with the issuing agency (in this case, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) OIRA may extend the review period by 30 days.

NOAA submitted the whale protection rule on Feb. 20, 2007. Therefore, OIRA has exceeded the review period by almost two months, and there is no end in sight. An OMB spokesperson refused to comment on the progress of the rule, according to the article. (For more on the White House's role in delaying this rule, click here.)

Congress has taken notice of the delay. In two separate letters, three senators and six congressmen have written President Bush urging him to allow NOAA to finalize the rule. As the senators' letter points out, "The North Atlantic right whale is one of the world's most endangered marine mammals with approximately 350 whales alive today, and should accordingly be among the Administration's top conservation priorities."

Unfortunately, this is not the only case of the White House using delay to serve its anti-regulatory agenda. As of July 20 (the last time Reg•Watch did its research), nine percent of rules under review had exceeded the time limit. Congress should investigate further to stop this sneaky, underhanded tactic.

Read the congressmen's letter here.

Read the senators' letter here.

Much has been said about the energy bill (H.R. 3221) the House of Representatives passed on Friday Aug. 4 (here is a recap from The New York Times). The provision receiving the most attention is the renewable electricity standard which would require private utilities to generate 15 percent of their output using renewable resources by 2020.

How exactly would this renewable electricity standard work?

• The Department of Energy (DoE) would retain the regulatory authority of promulgating rules related to the standard and making sure electricity suppliers comply.
• Beginning in 2010, private electricity providers (municipal providers are exempt) would have to provide DoE with documentation they are meeting the standard.
• The standard gradually increases every year, from 2.75 percent in 2010 to 15 percent in 2020.
• For providers unable to meet the standard, a credit system is included in the bill. Providers may buy and sell credits on a sort of renewable electricity credit marketplace regulated by DoE.
• The bill would mandate DoE promulgate regulations on measuring and verifying electricity savings under the program. The bill grants to DoE all the powers it would need to collect relevant information. Unfortunately, there is no explicit transparency provision that would allow the public access to this information.

The bill is a good start to what will hopefully be broad and comprehensive energy reform legislation taken up by the 110th Congress. Naturally, President Bush has vowed to veto the bill. In a statement, the White House Office of Management and Budget called this bill and another reducing tax breaks for big oil, "two bills that are not serious attempts to increase our energy security or address high energy costs."

Of course, President Bush has a policy of only attaching his name to "serious" legislation, as is evidenced by this White House press release.

Yesterday was a busy day for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. The panel approved legislation which would force EPA to decide on California's request to implement its own vehicle emissions standards. (More on California's request here.)

The bill — introduced by Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Bill Nelson (D-FL) — would also prevent delay from occurring in the future by giving EPA a 180 day window to decide on future requests.

The committee approved the bill 10-9 on party lines. The bill will now move to the Senate floor. A House committee is considering similar legislation.

The EPW Committee yesterday also approved a bill which would overturn an EPA regulation easing reporting requirements for the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). The bill would restore the stronger reporting thresholds that were in place for almost twenty years and remove EPA's authority to alter the program's reporting requirements without the approval of Congress.

That bill will also move to the Senate floor. Find out more and urge your senators to vote in favor of the bill by clicking here.