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Bush orders government to craft emissions rules |
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By Klaus Marre
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Posted: 05/14/07 04:14 PM [ET] |
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President Bush Monday ordered federal agencies to develop regulations that would reduce the consumption of gasoline by motor vehicles and thus lessen the production of greenhouse gases. He took the step following last month’s Supreme Court ruling that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must take steps to reduce emissions. Bush warned that it would take time to tackle the problem and set the end of his term as a deadline for promulgating regulations. The president is calling on the EPA and the Departments of Transportation, Agriculture and Energy to work together to write the rules. He asked the agencies to cooperate and pool their expertise. “I’ve also asked them to listen to public input, to carefully consider safety, science and available technologies, and evaluate the benefits and costs before they put forth the new regulation,” Bush said. The president said the new rules will address a goal he set in this year's State of the Union address to reduce gasoline usage by 20 percent over the next 10 years. Bush also stressed in his Rose Garden speech that the regulatory effort is not “a substitute for effective legislation” and pledged that his administration would work with Congress to get his 20-in-10 initiative passed. |
