Sherwood Boehlert: “Mr. Chairman, I think virtually every Member of this body agrees that we need to raise the fuel economy of passenger…”

“Mr. Chairman, I think virtually every Member of this body agrees that we need to raise the fuel economy of passenger vehicles. That is a no-brainer. Raising fuel economy saves money, makes us less dependent on foreign oil sources and helps protect the environment without cramping our life-style one bit. That is why even this bill, which is so tepid about conservation, includes a small increase in fuel economy standards. There is just no persuasive argument against raising the standards. It is the simplest, most basic step available to us. The question, though, is whether we are going to just appear to take this step or whether we are going to do it for real. The language in this bill is about keeping up appearances. The Boehlert-Markey amendment is about actually saving oil. In fact, there is a chart before me which makes clear, our amendment would save more oil than would be produced from drilling in ANWR under even the most optimistic scenarios. Those figures come from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.”