The US Senate on Thursday approved a bipartisan pact to raise average fuel economy standards for all US cars, light trucks and sport utility vehicles to 35 miles per gallon within 10 years. The deal, which represents the most sweeping attempt in two decades to limit damage to the environment from US gas-guzzling vehicles, emerged after hours of intense bargaining, as senators debate a mammoth energy.
The measure, which had been resisted by automakers, will increase fleetwide average economy standards by 10 miles (16 kilometers) per gallon (3.7 liters) to 35 miles from the current 25 miles per gallon within 10 years.
Pressure for such a deal has been mounting as Americans become increasingly frustrated at rising gasoline prices, and amid warnings that the United States must wean itself of foreign oil from the unstable Middle East.
Senators said the measure would save the United States between two and two-and-a-half million barrels of oil per day and result in an 18 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from anticpated levels and save consumers about 100 billion dollars at the gas pump.
"This bipartisan deal achieves the largest fuel economy increase in more than two decades," said Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, one of the prime movers behind the measure.
"This is an important step towards breaking our addiction to foreign oil," said Florida Democratic Senator Bill Nelson.
Republican and Democratic Senators in the US Congress said the bill would increase fuel economy standards while giving automakers the time to meet the new standards.
The amendment was passed by unanimous voice vote in the Senate, even as it was being announced at a press conference by Feinstein. It will be contained in the energy bill expected to come to a vote within the next few days.
Source: Agence France-Presse
