U.S. needs real energy bill.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Congress has an extraordinary opportunity to take major strides toward reducing this country's dependence on foreign oil and its greenhouse gas emissions. But it will require that House and Senate negotiators combine the best features of their respective energy bills.

With gas prices at $3 a gallon, U.S. troops bogged down in a Middle East war and concerns mounting over climate change, there's no lack of incentive for lawmakers to produce a truly comprehensive energy strategy and to avoid unnecessary compromises.

Earlier this year, the House and Senate approved separate energy bills that contain some key differences. They include:

Fuel efficiency:The Senate voted to raise average vehicle fuel efficiency to 35 miles per gallon, while the House failed to address fuel economy standards.

Renewable energy:?The?House bill requires electric utilities across the country to eventually produce 15 percent of electricity from renewable energy sources. The Senate version has no renewable requirement.

Taxing the oil industry:The House bill imposes $16 billion in new taxes and royalties on oil companies over 10 years by removing outdated and unnecessary industry tax breaks. It also provides tax incentives for renewable resources and energy efficiency. The Senate bill includes no tax provisions.

All of these issues must be addressed in the energy legislation that will go to conference this month. But the highest priority should be fuel efficiency.

Congress has not tightened the corporate average fuel economy standards - CAFE - since 1975, when the phase-in of current standards began. Lawmakers came close to updating the standards in the 1990s but were thwarted by automakers and their allies in Congress.

The debate over fuel efficiency standards does not split neatly along party lines. In the House, CAFE opposition is led by Rep. John Dingell, the influential Michigan Democrat who wrongly insists that stringent mileage standards would devastate his home state's auto industry.

The opposite is true. If Congress had raised standards periodically over the years, Detroit would have been forced to compete with the same foreign automakers who now dominate the market because they focused on engineering improvements that produced better mileage rather than more heft and zoom.

House and Senate negotiators also should make certain that the final legislation includes a national renewable energy standard that requires utilities get 15 percent of their power from renewable resources by 2020. Oregon is among 20 states that already have renewable energy standards in place, but a national standard that allows states to buy renewable energy credits from other entities could provide a welcome boost for Oregon's rural economy.

House negotiators also should insist on retaining the $16 billion in additional taxes and royalties on oil companies. At a time when the industry is drowning in profits, oil companies can hardly make a convincing argument that they must retain all of the exorbitant tax breaks that Congress approved as part of a 2005 energy bill.

Congress should approve the kind of omnibus energy legislation needed to make meaningful progress toward reducing greenhouse emissions and this nation's dangerous dependence on foreign oil. As soon as that job is done, lawmakers must begin serious debate on imposition of a cap-and-trade-system for greenhouse gas emissions.

Such accomplishments will require cooperation from Democrats and moderate Republicans - the kind of cooperation that American voters have made clear they expect from Congress in the months ahead.