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Politics : Rat's Nest - Chronicles of Collapse -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (1166)	7/20/2005 9:05:28 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24214

U.S. lawmakers push a longer day to save energy Tue Jul 19, 2005 11:33 PM BST Tom Doggett and Chris Baltimore WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers working out details of a broad U.S. energy bill voted on Tuesday to expand daylight-saving time by two months to conserve energy, but refused to boost mileage requirements for gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles. Negotiators on a joint Senate-House committee are racing to put a final energy package on President Bush's desk by a self-imposed deadline of Aug. 1. Among conflicts to be resolved is the cost of energy production tax breaks, which totaled $8 billion in the House bill and $16 billion in the Senate bill, and protection against lawsuits for oil refiners that made a fuel additive suspected of being a carcinogen. On Tuesday, the Senate and House negotiators agreed to move the start of daylight-saving time one month earlier to the first Sunday in March. The end of daylight time would be delayed one month to the last Sunday in November. Daylight-saving time occurs each spring when clocks are turned forward by one hour. U.S. clocks go back one hour to standard time in the fall. Supporters claim extending daylight-saving time would save about 100,000 barrels of oil a day because offices and stores open while it was still light outside would use less energy. Democrat Sen. Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico will try to shorten the period that daylight-saving time would be extended. A Bingaman aide said many farmers opposed the extra two months because they will have to start their workday in the dark. Negotiators rejected a proposal to boost fuel efficiency for cars, SUVs and light trucks by 1 mile per gallon a year in each of the next 10 years. An option to boost fuel efficiency 1 mile per gallon in each of the next five years also failed. Supporters of higher standards said tightening the mileage requirements of new vehicles would reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil, because gasoline demand accounts for about 40 percent of total U.S. oil use. "Our dependence in foreign oil has put the nation in a terrible situation," said Rep. Henry Waxman of California, a Democrat. "Our economy is vulnerable. Our security is at risk." Opponents said higher fuel standards would damage the fragile U.S. auto industry, causing the loss of good-paying autoworker jobs. But Senate Democrats still plan to offer an amendment to the final energy bill to cut U.S. oil consumption by 1 million barrels a day in a decade. The plan would not mandate any specific action, leaving it up to the president to figure out how to save the oil. The Senate approved such a plan in its version of energy legislation, while the House rejected it in its energy bill. House lawmakers with automakers in their districts are against the proposal, fearing it is a backdoor way to require greater vehicle fuel efficiency. One major issue is whether to protect oil companies that make the water-polluting gasoline additive MTBE from certain lawsuits. The House bill grants the liability waiver, while the Senate strongly opposes the lawsuit protection. Rep. Joe Barton, a Texas Republican who chairs the House-Senate committee working on the energy bill, has proposed a compromise that would create a trust fund to help pay for the cleanup, estimated to be in the billions of dollars. MTBE producers would pay a "significant amount" of the trust fund, said one industry lobbyist negotiating the deal. One sticking point is that some smaller MTBE producers may have to pay more into the fund than their expected liability, the lobbyist said. today.reuters.co.uk