Politics

New Mileage Mandate Coming

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

June 22, 2001 / 7:33 PM EDT / CBS

CBS News has learned that the Bush administration is planning to order stricter fuel economy standards for sport utility vehicles and light trucks, perhaps as soon as next month.

It would the first time those vehicles were required to improve their mileage in a quarter century, reports CBS News White House Correspondent Bill Plante.

SUVs and minivans account for nearly half the passenger vehicles sold in the United States.

But they have pulled down overall fuel efficiency to the lowest point in twenty years.

Under current standards, light trucks — the category which includes SUVs and minivans — need average only 20.7 miles per gallon. Cars must average 27.5 miles per gallon.

Is it a good idea to raise fuel efficiency standards?

The auto industry and Congress have resisted raising SUV fuel standards for years, claiming consumers buy performance and don't buy fuel efficiency.

"We can build it," said Cooper. "But if they don't buy it, we're not able to get the benefit in terms of fuel economy that the policy makers are looking for."

But now many lawmakers have begun responding to voter concerns about rising gas prices and dwindling energy supplies.

In a letter obtained by CBS News, 21 Republicans join 96 Democrats to urge the president to raise fuel standards, calling it "critical to reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil, cutting … pollution and saving … money at the gas pump."

Tank Rankings

The U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency recently published these rankings of the most and least fuel efficient trucks, vans and SUVs rated by city miles per gallon (mpg).

Advocates say that with 40 percent of oil used in America going into automobiles, tighter fuel standards could have a major impact on demand for petroleum, and thus its price. That in turn, they argue, could lower costs for businesses while reducing pollution. The president's nationa energy task force last month recommended revising fuel economy standards in its report.

The Bush administration says it's waiting for the results of a study by the National Academy of Sciences before proposing new standards.

But sources tell CBS News that the president's advisers are anxious to improve his environmental image before his next trip to Europe in July.

The advisors are recommending that President Bush raise SUV fuel standards soon by 3 miles per gallon, a number they think the auto industry can live with.

The auto industry, however, is fighting back. Meeting in Detroit this week with Vice President Dick Cheney, General Motors executives warned that higher fuel standards would cost jobs and force them to drop some popular models.

"The General Motors folks in the room made a compelling argument why this could be harmful both for conservation and jobs and safety," said Rep. Mike Rogers.