Washington, D.C., January 4, 2007 – With gas prices again on the upswing, the Alliance to Save Energy has called on the new 110th Congress, convening today, to focus on enacting cost-effective policies for achieving greater vehicle fuel economy. The Alliance noted that in just two short months, from the end of October 2006 to January 1, 2007, the average retail price for regular gas rose from $2.20 to $2.30 per gallon, or 5 percent.

“We look forward to early congressional hearings to address these pressing issues, and we call on senators and representatives to work on an expeditious, bipartisan basis to determine the quickest, most cost-effective ways to achieve greater fuel economy across the U.S. vehicle fleet,” Callahan continued.

Noting that car and light truck fuel economy is down to 24.6 miles per gallon from its 1987-88 peak of 25.9 mpg, Callahan added, “We could save roughly 1 million barrels of oil per day just by increasing fleet-wide fuel economy by only 2 mpg, which is more than achievable with currently-available technologies. Policies such as increased fuel economy (CAFE) standards and a ‘feebate’ program rewarding high-mileage vehicles, for example, could accomplish this goal."