http://thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/Business/031605.html
Afraid that their vote to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to
oil exploration might make Congress more likely to increase fuel
efficiency standards, the automobile industry is "trying to polish
its image." The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers is claiming, in
newspaper and radio ads, and on cleaning sponges given to
Congressional staffers, that "cars are 99% cleaner than they used to
be." (The Union of Concerned Scientists calls the Auto Alliance
campaign "highly misleading.") An Auto Alliance spokesperson said
increased fuel standards would be "very difficult to achieve,"
because of the popularity of large vehicles. "It's not what we
manufacture; it's what consumers buy," she said.
SOURCE: The Hill, March 16, 2005
---------
http://thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/Business/031605.html
Lobbyists see a tradeoff -- ANWR for CAFE standards
By Jim Snyder
Congressional staffers received cleaning sponges last week,
compliments of an auto industry trying to polish its image.
The sponges carried the same message as earlier newspaper
advertisements (in such places as The Hill) and radio spots: Cars are
99 percent cleaner than they used to be.
Some senators want automobiles to be cleaner still, through tougher
average-mileage standards attached to a comprehensive energy bill.
That position appeared to receive a boost last week when Energy and
Natural Resources Committee Chairman Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) suggested
a greater willingness to cut demand for oil by requiring cars to go
farther on a tank of gas.
Domenici said he would "be delighted to include a viable" corporate
average fuel economy, or CAFE, provision in the energy bill.
With a possible Senate debate looming on boosting energy supplies by
opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to drilling, some
lobbyists see a potential tradeoff.
"ANWR is happening. That's the supply side. Republicans may be
saying, 'Now let's do something more on the demand side,'" said one
utility lobbyist who supports the energy bill but doesn't have a
stake in whether it increases average fuel-economy standards.
Marnie Funk, a spokeswoman for the Energy and Natural Resources
Committee, said that many of the amendments that Democrats threatened
to offer in the last Congress if a Republican-crafted energy bill
returned to the floor focused on conservation.
While Domenici felt his bill was balanced, Funk added, "Absolutely,
we are open to doing more."
Bill Wicker, spokesman for committee Democrats, said his side was
still waiting to hear what "viable" means to Republicans.
The auto industry - which says an overly aggressive CAFE boost would
force layoffs - is revving up for the debate. It has done so by
noting, through sponges and advertisements, that cars are already
much cleaner than they were three decades ago.
But upping the fuel standard could be "very difficult to achieve,"
said Gloria Bergquist, a spokeswoman for the Alliance of Automobile
Manufacturers, which represents domestic and foreign car
manufacturers.
Carmakers say they are at the mercy of their market because CAFE
averages fuel efficiencies of cars on the road and not the cars that
are made.
"It's not what we manufacture; it's what consumers buy," Bergquist said.
Consumers have increasingly favored larger vehicles, such as SUVs,
which fall under the less stringent light-truck CAFE standards.
Carmakers want CAFE changes to be handled by the National Highway
Transportation Safety Administration, which can review the difficult
technicalities of changing CAFE over a period of months, rather than
by Congress, Bergquist said.
The current automobile CAFE - 27.5 miles per gallon - has been the
standard since 1990. Light trucks will have to meet an average fuel
economy of 22.2 miles a gallon in 2007, up from the current standard
of 20.7 mpg.
Backed by environmental groups, lawmakers have tried for years to
increase auto fuel-efficiency standards, but congressional efforts
have failed. That's despite the call from some Republicans to
increase CAFE standards as a way to reduce America's dependence on
foreign oil.
Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Dianne
Feinstein (D-Calif.) have introduced bills in past sessions to raise
the standard as high as 36 miles per gallon.
Even with rising prices, demand for gasoline in the United States
continues to grow.
According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), which
records energy statistics for the Energy Department, motorists used
8.93 million barrels of gasoline a day in 2003. In 2004, that was
projected to have increased to 9.06 million barrels per day.
A decade ago, demand stood at 7.6 million barrels a day, according to the EIA.
Bergquist said the auto industry favors tax incentives to purchase
fuel-efficient cars such as hybrids or cars that run on clean diesel.
The alliance, for instance, urged support for a bill introduced this
year in the House by Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.) that would provide
between $600 and $4,000 per vehicle in tax breaks for consumers who
purchased so-called advanced-technology vehicles.
Democratic-leaning unions such as the United Auto Workers (UAW) favor
that approach as well because it doesn't penalize automakers that
sell a number of models - light and heavy cars and trucks. The Big
Three auto producers, for instance, would have a more difficult time
complying with a higher CAFE than would Honda, with a car fleet
largely made up of smaller models.
Domenici's committee is expected to mark up an energy bill shortly
after the spring recess.
"He's obviously trying to look at all possibilities," said Alan
Reuther, the top lobbyist at UAW.
But, noting earlier failed efforts to boost the limit, Reuther
predicted any change Domenici proposes wouldn't be dramatic.
"I wouldn't read too much into it," Reuther said.
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