SECTION: CAPITOL HILL HEARING TESTIMONY

LENGTH: 533 words

COMMITTEE: SENATE ENERGY & NATURAL RESOURCES

HEADLINE: NATIONAL ENERGY POLICY

TESTIMONY-BY: JEFF BINGAMAN, D-NM, CHAIRMAN

BODY:
July 17, 2001

Statement of Chairman Jeff Bingaman, D-NM

The purpose of today's hearing is to consider proposals to reduce the demand for petroleum products in the light duty vehicle sector. The Committee has held several hearings on the subject of gasoline supply and price, most recently a field hearing in South Dakota chaired by Senator Tim Johnson on renewable fuels.

Today we are shifting the focus to the demand side of the equation. Although this Committee does not have direct jurisdiction over vehicle fuel efficiency standards, it does over R&D, alternative fuels, and overall energy policy. Several bills referred to this Committee propose strategies to reduce gasoline consumption either through fuel diversification or increased efficiency. We have asked the witnesses to review and comment upon S. 597, S. 388, S. 883, S. 1053, and S. 1006, but the witnesses should feel free to comment on other measures referred to other committees. The New York Times this morning is reporting on a draft of the National Academy of Sciences report on improvements in vehicle efficiency. According to the New York Times, the report, which was requested by the Congress last year, will find that "fuel economy of new vehicles, especially sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks, could be raised by as much as 8 to 1 1 miles a gallon over the next 6 to 1 0 years with the extra cost offset by savings on gasoline..."

The panel preparing this report does not include anyone from the environmental community, yet the findings seem to be fairly consistent with a recent study by the Union of Concerned Scientists, "Drilling In Detroit: Tapping Automaker Ingenuity to Build Safe and Efficient Automobiles." We will have an opportunity this morning to explore the types of technologies that can be deployed in the near term and in the future to achieve greater efficiency.

The New York Times story also follows up on the issue of sales of flexible fueled vehicles that can use either gasoline or ethanol to meet current fuel economy targets. Close to a million of these vehicles, mostly trucks and SUV's, are currently being manufactured. Yet, very few of these vehicles actually burn ethanol.

This Committee has been a strong proponent of the use of alternative fuels. In fact, alternative fueled vehicles were a major focus of the Energy Policy Act (EPACT), the last major energy legislation passed by the Congress. Unfortunately, the goals of EPACT with respect to alternative fuels have not been met in part due to the lack of available refueling infrastructure, but also due to the disincentive to use the alternative fuels inherent in flexible fueled vehicles.

The goals of fuel diversification remain as valid today as they did ten years ago. We will hear from some of the witnesses this morning about how we can increase the use of those fuels. There are multiple reasons we need to be serious about reducing our reliance on petroleum products, from energy security and economics to the global environment. I hope this hearing will give the Committee guidance as to how we can develop policies to achieve both greater efficiency and fuel diversity in the vehicle sector.



LOAD-DATE: July 18, 2001