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Even President Bush has admitted it: we're addicted to oil. The consequences of this addiction include air pollution, global warming, and billions upon billions of dollars sent overseas every year that supports fundamentally anti-democratic regimes.

Cars and light trucks currently consume approximately 40% of the oil used in the United States. So the biggest single step we can take to curb global warming and save oil is to raise the fuel economy of our vehicles. By making our cars and light trucks go farther on a gallon of gas, Americans will save billions of dollars, curb global warming pollution, and slash our dependence on oil —- making our nation safer and more secure.

Representatives Markey (D-MA) and Platts (R-PA) have recently introduced legislation that will increase fuel-economy standards four percent each year for the next ten years. If passed, this legislation would save more oil than we currently import from the entire Persian Gulf.  (On June 21 of this year, the Senate passed counterpart legislation to get fuel economy standards up to 35 mpg by 2020.)

The technology exists today to make any vehicle –- from cars to SUVs to pickups –- get better fuel economy, but fuel-economy standards have stagnated since they were first adopted in 1975. A recent poll from the Pew Center for Fuel Efficiency shows that the American public overwhelmingly supports better mileage standards.  Another recent report from the Union of Concerned Scientists shows that investments in fuel economy would create 241,000 new jobs across the country over the next 13 years.

It is time for Congress to once again ratchet fuel-economy standards upwards and jumpstart the auto industry to build safer and more fuel-efficient vehicles.