President Bush Signs Bill Boosting Fuel Standards

December 19, 2007; The AIADA newsletter reported that President Bush signed into law yesterday legislation that will bring more fuel-efficient vehicles into auto showrooms and require wider use of ethanol, calling it "a major step" toward energy independence and easing global warming.

The AP reports that the legislation requires automakers to increase fuel efficiency by 40 percent to an industry average 35 mpg by 2020.

It also ramps up production of ethanol use to 36 billion gallons a year by 2022. Bush said the new requirements will help "address our vulnerabilities and dependency" on foreign oil by reducing demand for gasoline and diversifying the nation's fuel supply.

The House passed the energy bill Tuesday by a 314-100 vote after the Senate cleared it last week following lengthy negotiations and sometimes testy confrontations.

Bush had vowed to veto the original legislation passed by the House because it included $21 billion in taxes. The tax provisions were dropped to get the bill approved.