US Congress Approves Energy Bill for Increased Fuel Efficiency in Vehicles

VOA News
December 18, 2007

The U.S. Congress has approved an energy bill that increases U.S. fuel efficiency standards in cars and trucks.

President Bush is expected to sign the measure into law.

The bill was approved Tuesday in the House of Representatives and last week in the Senate. It is the first major required increase in vehicle efficiency in more than three decades.

The measure requires automobile companies to achieve a fuel efficiency standard of 6.72 liters per 100 km by 2020.

Democrats abandoned efforts to include tax incentives to families and businesses to increase their use of renewable energy while boosting taxes on oil companies by some $13 billion.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino today said the Bush administration is pleased Congress worked together in a bipartisan way, giving the president the opportunity to sign a bill that does not include tax increases.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.