John W. Olver: “I wanted to point out to people today that the President's energy plan utterly ignores a key fact; that if we are to put…”

“I wanted to point out to people today that the President's energy plan utterly ignores a key fact; that if we are to put limits on global warming and the inevitable resulting climate change, we must cut back on burning fossil fuels that release carbon dioxide, the most important greenhouse gas, into our atmosphere. One of the simplest and most effective ways to reduce oil consumption is to increase the fuel efficiency of our cars and trucks. Currently, cars and trucks guzzle 40 percent of all the oil used in the United States and they produce 20 percent of the Nation's carbon dioxide pollution. Improved fuel efficiency would protect consumers from higher prices at the gas pump, reduce our dependence on foreign oil and decrease carbon dioxide emissions. The gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Gilchrest), from the Republican Party, and I have together introduced, with bipartisan sponsors, a bill that would require light trucks and SUVs to meet the same fuel efficiency standards as passenger cars, gradually, by the year 2007. Once fully implemented, that would save the U.S. 1 million barrels of oil every day, reduce oil imports by 10 percent, and prevent over 200 million tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere every year.”