MARKEY: HIGH GAS PRICES BREAK RECORD AS BUSH OIL POLICY COLLAPSES

Washington, DC - Gas prices hit another record high last week, breaking the all-time record set during the oil crisis of 1981. According to AAA, gasoline hit an average of $3.20 nationally last week, beating out the highest recorded price during the OPEC crisis of the early 1980s, which would be $3.15 in today’s dollars.

Two weeks ago, Chairman Edward Markey of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming heard from American small businesspeople detailing how high prices at the pump have put the squeeze on their ability to make ends meet every month. Retailers have also released figures showing an impact in spending habits and behavior patterns.

“High gas prices are hitting families hard, but they’re also causing our economy to stall and sputter like a jalopy,” said Chairman Markey. “We must increase the fuel economy of all of our vehicles to protect America against these high gas prices and break our dangerous ties with the oil cabal that keeps us captive to their whims.”

Last week the president announced that he had asked his Cabinet to use its existing authority under the Clean Air Act to reform and set a goal for increasing fuel economy standards for cars by 4 percent a year for 10 years – authority the Bush administration has repeatedly asserted it did not have. President Bush set the end of 2008 as the deadline for such a proposal, just  3 weeks before he leaves office.

Stronger Fuel Economy Standards Needed Now to Battle Oil Dependence

America’s oil dependence is at an all-time high. After Congress mandated a doubling of fuel economy standards from 13.5 to 27.5 miles per gallon in response to the oil embargo in 1975, our dependence on foreign oil went from 46.5 percent in 1977 to 27 percent in 1985.  We are now back up to 60 percent - and climbing.

“The single biggest step we can take to both reduce costs and our dependence on Middle East oil is to improve the fuel economy of the cars and light trucks we drive,” said Chairman Markey. “If Congress acts immediately to pass my fuel economy proposal, we can help consumers save hundreds of dollars and lessen America’s dependence on the oil cartel that drives oil policy.”

The Markey-Platts fuel economy bill would require that new vehicles achieve a 35 mile per gallon standard by 2018 and would reduce the annual cost of driving by $860, from $1,900 to $1,040. The bill, H.R. 1506, has 128 cosponsors.

Fuel economy standards for cars have not been increased in 20 years, and the fuel economy of the American fleet is currently lower than it was in 1987.

Costs to Drivers, Businesses, Families Mount

According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), in 2005, U.S. cars, vans, pickups and SUVs collectively traveled an average of 11,856 miles, used 594 gallons of gasoline, and had an on-the-road average fuel economy of 20 miles per gallon. If gasoline prices stay as high as $3.20/gallon, the average driver will spend at least $1,900 per year on gasoline. AAA has also predicted gasoline reaching highs of $3.25 a gallon soon, and other analysts see $4.00 gasoline as a distinct possibility.

Each $1 increase in the price of gasoline adds $594 to the average consumer’s annual transportation bill, according to FHWA statistics. For a family owning one car making $20,000 a year, $3 a gallon gasoline consumes almost 9 percent of its annual income. If the price goes to $4, that number goes up to almost 12 percent.

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