US tyre fuel efficiency bill passes another hurdle

Washington, DC - The Energy and Commerce Committee of the US House of Representatives has passed five bills designed to encourage energy conservation, including one to establish a national tyre fuel efficiency consumer information programme.

The bill has to pass through a vote in the House of Representatives and then be put before a Senate committee and finally a vote in the Senate. A final conference committee then irons out any differences between the bills passed in the House and the Senate before the bill can be put in front of the President - who has power of veto. If it passes all these stages, it can become law.

The bill as presently cast would establish a tyre fuel efficiency rating system combined with a national consumer education programme on tyre maintenance, and would be administered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Rep. Anna Eshoo (Democrat for California) sponsored an amendment to the bill, also passed, which prevented the national programme from pre-empting the California replacement tyre fuel efficiency law passed in 2003. The Rubber Manufacturers Association, which supports the House fuel efficiency bill, agreed to support the Eshoo amendment to expedite the legislative process, an RMA spokesman said.

"In the Senate, we hope to work through the legislative process to achieve an even more favorable bill," the spokesman said.

From Rubber & Plastics News (A Crain publication)

Diagram of how US laws are made