WASHINGTON -- In his State of the Union 2007 address last night, President Bush asked Congress and America's scientists, farmers, industry leaders and entrepreneurs to join him in pursuing the goal of reducing U.S. gasoline usage by 20% in the next 10 years20 in 10.
He said that America will reach the goal by increasing the supply of renewable and alternative fuels by setting a mandatory fuels standard to require 35 billion gallons of renewable and alternative fuels in 2017nearly five times the 2012 target now in law. In 2017, this will displace 15% [image-nocss] of projected annual gasoline use.
He also called for reforming and modernizing Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for cars and extending the current light truck rule. In 2017, this will reduce projected annual gasoline use by up to 8.5 billion gallons, a further 5% reduction that, in combination with increasing the supply of renewable and alternative fuels, will bring the total reduction in projected annual gasoline use to 20%.
"When we do that we will have cut our total imports by the equivalent of three-quarters of all the oil we now import from the Middle East," Bush said.
The president said that Congress must reform CAFE for passenger cars. The administration has twice increased CAFE standards for light trucks using an attribute-based method. An attribute-based system (for example, a size-based system) reduces the risk that vehicle safety is compromised, helps preserve consumer choice, and helps spread the burden of compliance across all product lines and manufacturers. Congress should authorize the Secretary of Transportation to apply the same kind of attribute-based method to passenger cars, Bush said.
His plan will help confront climate change by stopping the projected growth of carbon dioxide emissions from cars, light trucks and sports utility vehicles (SUVs) within 10 years.
The president's plan to strengthen America's energy security also includes stepping up domestic oil production in environmentally sensitive ways and doubling the current capacity of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to 1.5 billion barrels by 2027. Doubling the SPR alone will provide approximately 97 days of net oil import protection, enhancing America's ability to respond to potential oil disruptions, said Bush.
The president also discussed health care, spending reform, education, immigration, judges, the War on Terror, Iraq, the military, AIDS and malaria.
Click here for the full text of the president's address.
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