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Democrats won a hard-fought victory Thursday night with the decisive passage of a sweeping energy bill that would require the first increase in automotive efficiency standards in more than two decades. But formidable roadblocks still face the bill, including a White House veto threat over language aimed at prohibiting price gouging by oil companies. Next month the House will take up its own broad energy package, which is expected to include a tax title that backers hope will be added on during conference negotiations. Left-leaning groups excoriated one major provision, a compromise over auto efficiency standards, which was led by Sens. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and Delaware Democrat Tom Carper. In particular, they criticized language, which had been sought by the Bush administration, to overhaul the across-the-board standard with a scale based on a vehicle’s size. “This is not a win, nor is it a step forward for fuel economy, consumers or the environment,” said Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen. “This is a step backward.” That deal would be the first successful attempt to increase corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for the first time since 1975. Senators from auto-producing states worked furiously to loosen requirements in the bill, and late Thursday a bipartisan coalition of 16 senators brokered the compromise, which would increase fuel efficiency requirements in cars and light trucks to 35 miles per gallon by 2020. The compromise removed language in the bill that would have required CAFE standards to increase 4 percent between 2021 and 2030, and replaced it with a provision calling for the “maximum feasible” boost. The 65-27 vote on the underlying bill handed Democrats a clear win, but not before Republicans blocked Democrats from attaching two major portions of the bill: a $32 billion tax package for renewable energy, and a requirement for utilities to generate cleaner electricity. Democrats said they were delivering on a campaign promise to begin making the country less dependent on fossil fuels with provisions aimed at boosting the country’s use of biofuels. “We are saving consumers money, protecting them from gas price gouging, creating new jobs and making our country safer—all while taking steps to reduce global warming,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said in a statement. Clearing the energy bill allows the Senate to avoid holding a rare weekend session, which Reid had threatened all week. The Senate will vote Tuesday on a motion to proceed to a “card check” bill backed by labor unions. The motion is expected to fail, and the Senate will then proceed to the immigration overhaul bill. |
