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The counterbids are already appearing in Congress, where two dozen energy- related bills are circulating, including several that would require higher fuel-efficiency levels. One that was introduced in the Senate last week by Nevada Democrat Richard Bryan and Washington Republican Slade Gorton would oblige U.S. automakers to increase the current 27.5-m.p.g. average fuel- efficiency standard to 34 m.p.g. within five years and to 44 m.p.g. within a decade. Supporters are confident they have the votes to win. A similar measure was defeated in the Senate last year.
Predicting the final shape of an energy plan is tricky. Energy politics don't divide along party lines. When the time comes to vote, liberal Democrats from oil-patch states, like Oklahoma Congressman Mike Synar, tend to line up with the petroleum industry. Detroit Democrats like Congressman Dingell back away from fuel-efficiency standards that are opposed by hometown automakers. And defenders of the environment can still turn up on both sides of the aisle. On Aug. 4, two days after the invasion of Kuwait, the House voted 281 to 82 effectively to ban for one year any drilling for natural gas along North Carolina's Outer Banks, one of the nation's largest untapped energy reserves.
Any effective national energy plan must contain two strands: increased domestic energy production and more efficient consumption. The President is ^ tugging at the production strand. Congress appears to be groping toward the other. The question is whether they can weave them together and give the country the leadership it urgently needs on this vital issue.