Brian Hill, President and CEO of PEC, was quoted in a December 21, 2007 Harrisburg Patriot News article on the new federal energy bill, which includes new fuel and energy efficiency standards. The article follows.
BY BRETT LIEBERMAN, Of Our Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - For years, U.S. Rep. Todd Platts was among a distinct minority of Republicans pushing to raise car and truck fuel-efficiency standards.
The York Republican had plenty of company Tuesday, when the House voted 314-100 on an energy bill signed into law on Wednesday.
"It's just a great win for the country," Platts said.
Platts was the lead Republican sponsor of a House measure included in the overall package that will raise fuel-efficiency standards for the first time in 32 years and eliminate millions of tons of greenhouse gas causing pollution per year.
But when it came time for the bill signing, Platts was back home in York County attending his son's third-grade production of "Titanic."
"I would have liked to have been there" at the signing, Platts said. "But my 8-year-old appreciated it."
Brian Hill, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, praised the legislation, which includes mandates for use of biofuels, sets energy efficiency standards for appliances and offers tax incentives for purchasing hybrid vehicles.
"The new federal energy bill is a great Christmas present for everyone concerned about global warming and promoting our energy independence," Hill said.
Platts called the federal legislation a triple win for the country, by helping national security, saving $22 billion a year at the pump by 2020, and cutting 192 million metric tons of emissions a year.
Platts equated that to taking "28 million of today's average cars and trucks off the road."
"It's pretty dramatic," he said.
The centerpiece of the bill President Bush signed will raise the minimum fuel-efficiency standard for vehicles to a fleet average of 35 miles per gallon by 2020. That's a 40-percent increase over today's standard, which established in 1975.
It will mean that 1.1 million barrels of oil per day less will be needed by 2020 and 2.3 million fewer barrels per day by 2030, when fully implanted and older cars and trucks are off the road.
Economically, it will mean $110 million a day less that's being sent overseas to sometimes hostile countries including Venezuela or in the Middle East, he said.
"This is a good achievement, but we can't let up," Platts said.
The "ultimate energy package" that he hopes to promote would broaden the definition of renewables to include waste-to-energy, promote alternative renewable fuels, and promote technological advancements to allow safe use of existing reserves of oil, coal and other energy sources abundant in Pennsylvania.