Office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Office of Rep. John Dingell Pelosi, Dingell agree on 35 mpg standard for cars

After congressional negotiators struck a deal that would require cars to meet tougher fuel economy standards by 2020, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she plans to bring an energy bill to the floor for a vote this week. But other key issues haven't been resolved and one possible provision, a proposed renewable-electricity mandate for utility companies, may have a tough time winning approval in the Senate.

Pelosi and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.) on Nov. 30 announced an agreement to include in energy legislation a provision to boost the federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard for cars to 35 miles per gallon by 2020. The current standard for autos is 27.5 mpg and hasn't changed since 1990.

Dingell, a long–time defender of the auto industry, called the new standards "aggressive and attainable." He also said the package would include incentives for saving U.S. auto jobs and producing vehicles that would be powered by ethanol or other biofuels.

Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), who advocated the higher CAFE level, said a House floor vote on the compromise energy bill was tentatively set to take place on Dec. 6.

The Senate passed an energy measure in June that emphasizes conservation and renewable sources, and included the 35-mpg fuel-economy standard. The House in August approved its energy measure with a similar emphasis on conservation, but without a CAFE provision.

Pelosi said the new compromise package would include a requirement that electric utilities get 15% of their power from wind and other renewables. That was part of the bill the House passed in August.

But Markey told reporters Dec. 3 that the renewable electricity standard was still "being negotiated." He added, "We have the votes in the House" to approve that provision, but added, "That's more of a Senate issue at this point."

In fact, the top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Pete Domenici of New Mexico, isn't at all happy about the prospect of the electricity provision, saying that including that language "will make this bill untenable for many in the Senate."

Domenici contended that the electricity provision wasn't among "parameters" for a compromise bill that Pelosi had agreed to and that had been communicated to Senate Republicans by their Democratic colleagues. He said he had told his staff to stop work on the energy bill, because, he said, "the final bill apparently will not be the product of our bipartisan negotiations."

The energy bill the House passed in September also included $16 billion in tax breaks, but Markey said the tax title "is likely to be smaller" than that earlier measure. He said details on that provision have to be worked out.