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Detroit Faces Bipartisan Fire Over Fuel Economy
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Within the next few weeks, a coalition led by the Pew Charitable Trusts will announce a nationwide campaign to press Congress to pass fuel economy legislation. The effort, in the final planning stages, will include at least a dozen different interest groups, including energy and national security groups and religious organizations.
"The war in Iraq and high prices at the pump are increasingly sensitizing the American public, and we think this is the right time to do this," said Josh Reichert, director of Pew's environment group. "There is a confluence of factors out there that make this the best opportunity that we've had in decades."
The environmentalists are getting a boost from an unlikely quarter: a bipartisan lobbying coalition of big names in the military and corporate suites. Securing America's Future Energy has been telling lawmakers that Americans' security is at risk as long as the country remains dependent on foreign oil, especially Middle Eastern oil. One of its solutions is to bolster fuel economy standards.
The lobby group includes heavyweights such as Frederick W. Smith, chief executive of FedEx, and retired Gen. P.X. Kelley, a former Marine Corps commandant.
The automakers prefer to leave any adjustment in mileage standards in the hands of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rather than Congress. The industry says NHTSA would be ruled by science rather than politics. Utilities, coal producers and large business groups such as the National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have also argued against Congress mandating a specific change in CAFE standards.
But with the prospect that Congress, especially the Senate, could become even more heavily Democratic after the 2008 election, the auto companies are showing signs that they might accept tighter requirements to avoid more onerous limitations from the next Congress.
Alan R. Mulally, the new chief executive of Ford, said he believes the Earth is warming due to greenhouse-gas emissions and has promised that Ford would step up its commitment to environmental leadership. He said public opinion increasingly shows that "green is good business."
But even Mulally admitted yesterday the learning curve on CAFE, one of Washington's most intractable political issues, remains as daunting as ever.
"I never learned so much so fast," Mulally said.
