House drops revised fuel economy standards
Yesterday, House Democrats withdrew two amendments to an energy bill in the House that would increase fuel economy standards significantly over the next 12 years. The bill, which is slated for debate this week, included a proposed increase in fuel mileage by close to 40-percent for both cars and SUV/light trucks. The goal was to revise the outdated fuel economy standards to 27.5 MPG for cars and 22.2 MPG for trucks and SUVs by 2019.
Ed Markey, D-Mass withdrew his amendment after a conversation with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, although Markey insisted that support on both sides of the aisle was enough to bring it to the President's desk. Surprised? We weren't either.
[Source: Detroit News]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Eric 9:25AM (8/02/2007)
Ah, the dems squirming out of following thru with promises. Is this really a surprise? Have they been able to pass anything of substantial importance since taking control of congress? Ok, maybe the minimum wage bill. But didn't they promise to do more in the first 100 days than any other congress? What a joke.
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Steven T. 9:57AM (8/02/2007)
The biggest reason Democrats haven't passed much is that Republicans have done their best to block whatever they can. This isn't rocket science -- the Dems don't have a veto-proof majority, and the party is much more diverse ideologically than the Republicans.
It is funny to see the Republicans be rigidly obstructionist and then criticize the Dems for legislative failure. There's a word for that: hypocritical.
Richard 10:37AM (8/02/2007)
The Dems said they would pass 100 pieces of legislation. They have passed 6 almost all of which were foregone conclusions before the election. The GOP have obstructed nothing and the guy in the White House never heard the word Veto. So blaming the failure of the Dems on the GOP members of Congress is a bit like saying that Nancy Pelosi's family doesn't make tons of money as "consultants" to her campaign.
Now, if she and Leahey would stop emitting so much CO2 and get those 2nd and 3rd world countries to cut their CO and CO2 emissions, we might all get somewhere.
Remember a neo-conservative is just a liberal who has been mugged by reality.
waLLy 1:32PM (8/02/2007)
Hey Richard,
You're already on the intertubes, so how 'bout you go to Google, Yahoo, or your search engine of preference and look up: bush veto
Chris 9:26AM (8/02/2007)
I don't know who is worse, the Republicans who are assholes, or the Democrats who are assholes trying not to act like assholes. Thanks Pelosi, you've once again screwed over the American people by making promises you can't keep.
Vote them all out! I think we need an all-new Congress and Administration. Who cares what party they are from?
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FrankTheCrank 9:37AM (8/02/2007)
Dispicable!
Is it the job of government to enact the wishes of it's constituents or to placate to the needs of large corporations(auto/oil)??
California backed off and they crushed all the EV cars. And DC is so deep into the pockets of the corporations they're LOST.
Who wins? Automakers, BIG OIL, the middle east oil producing countries and the terrorist they fund.
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The Other Bob 10:23AM (8/02/2007)
Or the other possibility is that they are coming to their senses and realize that CAFE won't help the environment and will only force automakers to build cars that aren't profitable. (I can only dream)
Let's keep in mind that cars driven in the U.S. only account for less than 1.5% of the world's CO2. Increasing mileage by 40%, if it's even possible won't even scratch the surface.
If this CAFE increase goes through and auto companies don't go bankrupt, there will be a revolt by Americans who won't have choices. Trucks trying to tow trailers with a 4 cylinder won't exactly be popular.
FrankTheCrank, if you cared so much about the environment, you wouldn't own a car at all. You also wouldn't use any manufactured product or heat your home.
rv 2:06PM (8/02/2007)
Um why? If somebody cares about the environment they can't live a modern lifestyle? Ironic, your thinking paints you out as living in a cave. I guess you watch FauxNews - best way to smear progressive thinking is to find a hypocrisy in those that support it.
P.S.; right-wing extremism is a great way to lose your point... Oh, and higher MPGs does mean less cash for big oil but to say there's no profit in making gas-sipping cars is simply ignorance. Americans will revolt because we will start to see better mileage on cars? Uh, riiiiiight...
It seems like you really know what you're talking about with the truck comments...
But hey, run with it! Progress is scary.
Louis Duran 7:31PM (8/02/2007)
Response to "The Other Bob"...
you state that the US contribution to CO2 emissions by on road automobiles is less than 1.5%. I highly doubt this statistic since the US total contribution to CO2 emissions is over 21% (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dioxide_emissions)
And the transportation sector contributes somthing like 40% of all CO2 in the US. So at a minimum US CO2 contribution just by on road vehicles is roughly 8-9% which is 5-6 times higher than you stated. If you have solid numbers to back up your claim, I'd love to see them but I don't think you will.
FrankTheCrank 9:38AM (8/02/2007)
YOU HAVE KNOW ONE TO BLAME BUT YOURSELVES!!!
You all called Ross Perot a nut. Then you called Ralph Nader loon. But time and time again, you keep buying into this two party system. It's BROKEN!!
It's time for new leadership. It's time for a new party.
We need to kick the PAC's out of DC. They have no interest in our interests.
WHAT WILL IT TAKE?
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david damn 2:47PM (8/02/2007)
Typo: "NO", not "KNOW"
Somebody ready the actually article and tell me where it mentions Republicans? It doesn't. Dem's killed it because bankrupting the Big 2.5 is a bad idea. They finally did the right thing, but they can't admit it without hurting their 'anti-big business/pro union' image.
David Damn 2:49PM (8/02/2007)
Yeah, it hurts my point to have more typo's than frank!
Imp 3:47PM (8/02/2007)
David Dumb, Franks's comment is highly ranked because of content, not spelling ... keep trying and maybe you'll have a highly ranked comment one day.
david damn 10:37PM (8/02/2007)
Oh the irony, my comment is highly ranked!
Harry Ariola 9:51AM (8/02/2007)
Just a thought:
In 1787, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years prior:
"A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship."
The average age of the worlds’ greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:
1. From bondage to spiritual faith
2. From spiritual faith to great courage
3. From courage to liberty
4. From liberty to abundance
5. From abundance to complacency
6. From complacency to apathy
7. From apathy to dependence
8. From dependence back into bondage
I would say this country is in stage 6. That's why we're in the mess we're in.
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JC3 9:59AM (8/02/2007)
Brilliant.Thank You Harry.I see it too.
Richard 10:44AM (8/02/2007)
Absolutely dead-on assessment of the situation.
I am an optimist, though a put us somewhere between 5 and 6.
RicardoHead 5:00PM (8/02/2007)
Stage 6 is okay. I'll be dead before we're doomed, so I don't care!
UAW 9:55AM (8/02/2007)
Nice, the power struggle is between two sides - aggressive criminals (Republicans) and passive losers (Democrats). First would sell their mothers and children to a devil, let alone lives of others, for oil money and military and reconstruction contracts, seconds "trying to make it right" but bend over under slightest pressure. Neither deserve to be in the White House.
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Vince 9:55AM (8/02/2007)
I'm done with the Dems. At least the Republicans don't pretend they're not in Big Business back pocket.
I'm sticking with Green/independent candidates. Dems don't get my vote any longer.
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