WASHINGTON - APRIL 25 - "Consumers should brace themselves for more pain at the pump. While the president continues to remind us of what we have known for decades -- that our country is addicted to oil and the average fuel economy of today's cars and trucks is a disgrace -- encouraging conservation and promoting future fuels is far from enough.

"The president continues to ignore the single most effective way to curb oil use -- requiring auto manufacturers give consumers cars and trucks that go significantly farther on a gallon of gas. To help drivers, the president and Congress should increase the fuel economy standards for the average automobile to 40 miles per gallon over the next decade, the equivalent of offering a $550-$650 annual tax break. With gasoline prices expected to approach $3 per gallon or higher, drivers are going to need this kind of help. Congress and the president can also assist by setting enforceable oil savings targets of 7 million barrels per day by 2026. That will ensure that all industries, consumers, and the government do their part to reduce our oil addiction.

"In the near term, consumers can fight high gas prices by purchasing the highest fuel economy car or truck that meets their needs, reducing travel by carpooling, taking transit, walking or biking, and demanding that Congress and the president provide them with the $550-$650 annual tax break they would effectively receive from reaching a 40 mpg standard in 10 years. The president's plan to eliminate the cap on hybrid tax credits to ensure that all qualified hybrids get the incentive will help consumers willing to make the patriotic choice of buying a high fuel economy hybrid. However, extending the credit for only one year is shortsighted as consumers will face the same high gas prices in the coming years.

"In the long term, we will have to tap into alternatives to oil. The president is right to point to cellulosic ethanol, hydrogen, and electricity as fuels that could help us kick our oil habit. But there will not be enough land, the fuels will be too expensive and we may be driven right back to unstable imports if we do not pursue these alternatives alongside significant reductions in the amount of fuel our cars and trucks require.

"Finally, the reality is that the world's petroleum is limited. We simply cannot drill our way out of high oil prices when we consume 25 percent of the world's oil and yet have only two percent of the world's oil reserves. Increasing fuel economy by only 2 mpg would save more oil every day than the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge could provide at its peak, 20 years from now."

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