The Time is Now
20 Jul 2006

Yesterday, I, along with several Republican and Democratic Senators, introduced legislation to increase fuel economy standards in the U.S. for the first time in 20 years. As a result, it would reduce U.S. gasoline consumption by nearly half a trillion gallons by 2028 and greatly decrease our dependence on foreign oil.

The Fuel Economy Reform Act of 2006 seeks to break the decades-long logjam on increasing fuel economy standards by taking a new, more flexible approach. The bill charges the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) to create regular annual increases in fuel economy with a target of 1 mile per gallon each year. The experts at NHTSA will base these standards on attributes of a vehicle such as size and weight, and will be able to revise the annual increase if they conclude that the target cannot be reached with current technology or without compromising the safety of the entire fleet, or is not cost-effective when compared to the economic and geopolitical value of a gallon of

gasoline saved.

Add your name as a supporter of this new legislation: http://ga3.org/ct/A12JcAn1-XW_/

America spends $800 million a day, or $300 billion annually, on its 20-million-barrel-a-day oil habit. Passenger vehicles alone burn 8 million gallons of oil each day. Because we import 60 percent of our oil, much of it from the Middle-East, our dependence on oil is also a national security issue. With oil prices hovering near $75 a barrel and total U.S. petroleum use estimated to increase 23 percent over the next 20 years, we must act now to prevent a future energy crisis. But while it's clear that increasing fuel economy standards is a crucial part of any effort to reduce our consumption of foreign oil, efforts to raise them have been

installed for 20 years.

The true danger of America's dependence on foreign oil is best explained not by politicians or energy experts here in the United States, but by our enemies abroad:

'[Oil] is the umbilical cord and lifeline of the crusader community.'

These are the words of Al Qaeda.

'Focus your operations on oil, especially in Iraq and the Gulf area, since this will cause them to die off [on their own].'

These are the words of Osama bin Laden. It is clear that the Achilles heel of the most powerful country on earth is the oil we import and cannot live without.

This legislation flips the current debate about increasing fuel economy standards on its head, from a debate about whether standards will be raised to presumption that they will be raised.

In order to enable domestic manufacturers to develop more fuel-efficient vehicles, the legislation also provides generous tax incentives for companies to retool parts and assembly plants. This would strengthen the U.S. auto industry by allowing them to compete with foreign hybrid, E-85 and other fuel-efficient vehicles. The bill would also allow more Americans to benefit from a tax credit for the purchase of fuel-efficient vehicles by lifting the current cap that only makes eligible the first 60,000 buyers per manufacturer each year.

If this 4 percent per year improvement is maintained for 20 years, this bill would reduce gasoline consumption by 549 billion gallons. If gasoline were just $2.50 per gallon, that means consumers would save $1.372 trillion at the pump by

2028.

The Fuel Economy Reform Act would also provide fairness and flexibility to domestic automakers by establishing different standards for different types of cars. Currently, manufacturers have to meet broad standards over their whole fleet of cars. This disadvantages companies like Ford and General Motors that produce full lines of small and large cars and trucks rather than manufacturers

that only sell small cars.

We need to act now if we want to prevent an even greater energy crisis in the future. This bipartisan, common sense approach will finally harness the technology we already have to save Americans money at the pump and save America from a dependence on the world's most unstable, undemocratic

regimes.

Please show your support by signing on today:
http://ga3.org/ct/A12JcAn1-XW_

Sincerely,

Barack Obama