995. A day late and a dollar short10 years late and $$ billions short

From CNN:

Bush called on Congress to give him the authority to set the standards for passenger cars sold in the United States as a means of reducing the nation's demand for gasoline.

"I encourage them to give me that authority," Bush told reporters during a visit to a service station in Biloxi, Mississippi. "It's an authority I used for light trucks, and I intend to use it wisely if Congress will give me that authority."

Congress first set the passenger car standard for fuel economy in 1975, and it has remained at 27.5 miles per gallon since 1990. The mileage is a weighted average of an automaker's fleet, not a requirement for individual models.

and the rest....

Just what we need. Congress abdicating more of its responsibility to this president. Not that the Republican leadership in Congress has shown any leadership on this issue all these years, but the authority that Bush used for light trucks that he's so proud of is this groundbreaking plan. STOP THE PRESSES!!! (from WaPo):

In March, the Bush administration approved a 1.9 mpg increase in the standards for sport utilities, minivans and pickups -- all in the light truck class that includes big gas guzzlers -- to 24.1 mpg between 2008 and 2011. It also rewrote the rules for calculating how far light trucks must go on a gallon of gasoline. (emphasis added)

[snip]

Prompted by Bush, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta formally asked House and Senate leaders on Thursday for authority to overhaul the mileage goal for that class of vehicle as well as the method for calculating it.

Consumer and environmental groups were mixed on the administration's about-face.

The Union of Concerned Scientists said changing the way fuel savings are calculated -- as was done with the light truck class -- could create loopholes for manufacturers to produce bigger, less efficient cars.

"If Congress is going to grant the president authority to revamp car fuel economy targets, (lawmakers) must also include a requirement that an oil savings guarantee be attached to any changes," the group said in a statement.

and the rest....

And do we suspect that Bush will use any additional authority that Congresss abdicates to him in this area to claim authority in other energy-related areas? Did he do so in Iraq? Did he do so with illegal wiretapping?