SAFE Praises Aggressive Fuel Economy Schedule

WASHINGTON, April 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Securing America's Future Energy (SAFE) today praised the Bush administration's announcement of an aggressive schedule for implementing the historic fuel economy standards passed into law in last year's Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

"Today, in announcing an aggressive schedule for meeting the fuel economy goals set out in the bill, the administration has shown an appreciation for the magnitude of our energy security challenges and the importance of confronting them," SAFE President and CEO Robbie Diamond said. "Instead of governing reactively, our country is poised to reduce oil consumption sooner rather than later. However, this is only the first step. We need to work on reducing consumption further, switching to other methods of powering our transportation--like electricity--and expanding our domestic sources of energy in an environmentally sound way."

The Energy Independence and Security Act calls for an increase in fleet-wide fuel economy standards for new vehicles to 35 miles per gallon in between 2011 and 2020. Today, the Department of Transportation announced that the majority of the increase -- to 31.6 miles per gallon -- would be implemented by 2015.

"Implementing these standards earlier rather than later will have a measurable impact on our oil consumption," Diamond added. "The median age for automobiles in the United States is approximately 10 years; it takes many years to turn over the entire fleet. With such a slow process, the earlier more fuel-efficient vehicles are introduced, the more the effect will compound over time. It is also time to step up and provide incentives to automobile manufacturers and consumers to help implement these guidelines."

In August 2006, SAFE's Energy Security Leadership Council--a group of prominent business leaders and retired senior military officers dedicated to addressing the economic and security aspects of oil dependence--released its Recommendations to the Nation on Reducing U.S. Oil Dependence, a comprehensive plan to improve our energy security that included aggressive improvements in fuel-economy standards. A year later, Congress passed and the president signed into law the Energy Independence and Security Act, whose principle measures mirrored major components of the Recommendations.

Securing America's Future Energy (SAFE) is an action-oriented, nonpartisan organization that aims to reduce America's dependence on oil and improve U.S. energy security to bolster national security and strengthen the economy.

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Source: Securing America's Future Energy

CONTACT: Jonathan Grella of Securing America's Future Energy,
+1-202-461-2369

Web Site: http://www.secureenergy.org/

2008-04-22 17:42:21 0342580 PRNEWSWIRE