"[P]eople acting in a group can accomplish things which no individual acting alone could even hope to bring about." - FDR

News & Analysis | REG•WATCH Blog | Press Room

Friday, June 29, 2007

House Energy Legislation is a Big Disappointment

The House Energy and Commerce Committee has finished round one of its comprehensive energy legislation efforts. Unlike the Senate, the House version does not include an increase in CAFE standards, the national program for vehicle fuel efficiency.

Republicans pushed for improved CAFE standards, but Democrats defeated their efforts. Leading the charge was auto industry lobbyist veteran Michigan Democrat, Congressman John Dingell.

According to Reuters, in its current form the bill would:

require clothes washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerators and freezers to use less energy, and require more efficient light bulbs.

The bill would also provide government funding to develop plug-in electric vehicles and promote alternative fuels like ethanol.

Reg•Watch does not mean to discredit these valuable energy efficiency measures, but seriously? This is what we have waited six months for?

Speaker Pelosi promised this July 4 would be America's energy independence day. That clearly won't happen. Last November's sweeping Democratic victory is turning into a sweeping bore.

Pelosi claims to support the Senate's CAFE increase, and wants to see work on the legislation complete in both chambers by September. But this isn't good enough. The Senate's version contains a provision which would introduce cost-benefit analysis into the CAFE program for the first time. The provision could allow future administrations to block fuel efficiency increases by citing the cost to the auto industry.

If Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats want to make good on their campaign promises, they should pass strong CAFE legislation which recognizes the benefits of a cleaner environment, improved public health, and national security instead of the costs to Detroit.