Obama orders new fuel standards for trucks
Multiple media is reporting that President Obama will order the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation to create and issue new fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas standards (law) for trucks by the end of March 2016.
Obama addressed the issue in remarks at a Safeway distribution center in Upper Marlboro, Md. White House officials say the new directive will build on a promise Obama made in his State of the Union address, and will cover both personal and commercial trucks.
Combination tractors, pickup trucks and vans, and vocational vehicles are required to reduce fuel consumption and emissions by between 10 and 20 percent. The White House claimed that the requirements would save a projected 530 million barrels of oil and save owners and operators more than $50 billion in fuel costs.
Tulsa Today hopes Obama's grand new plan works better than Solyndra.
Obama also called on Congress to end subsidies to oil and gas companies and create a fund for the research and development of so-called "advanced vehicle technologies," which power vehicles that run on alternate fuels, such as hydrogen and natural gas, as well as electric cars.
The president will also propose a new $200 million tax credit for companies that invest in advanced vehicles and infrastructure, as well as an extension of tax credits for companies developing new biofuels.
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CBS headline, "With the stroke of Obama's pen, new fuel standards on the way."
CBS asserts Congress made President Obama do it.
Rebecca Kaplan for the network writes: "With Congress too divided on environmental issues to put forward legislation, President Obama is moving forward with his go-at-it-alone strategy and using his executive authority to set new fuel standards for trucks.
"In addition to the environmental benefits, the president argued that fuel efficiency upgrades will save companies money on fuel costs over the lifetime of the vehicle. The first round of standards put forward by his administration, which were finalized in September 2011, are projected to save 530 million barrels of oil – an approximate $50 billion in fuel costs over the lifetime of those vehicles. The standards will also help reduce greenhouse gas emission by 270 million metric tons," Kaplan wrote.