Bush Won't Finalize New Fuel Economy Standards

President Bush will leave office without finalizing the new fuel economy standards that he proposed last April, the Transportation Department announced last week, leaving the issue to be resolved under the next administration. The Department cited the automobile industry's economic crisis for the delay. Under the proposed rulemaking issued by DOT last April, fleetwide corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards would increase by 25 percent, to 31.6 gallons per mile, by 2015. The deadline to finalize the rulemaking is April 1. Read more at E&E (subs req.)