Senate sidesteps tire fuel efficiency measure

WASHINGTON (Aug. 12)—The U.S. Senate sidestepped voting on a proposal from Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., to require fuel economy labels on replacement tires. That provision—one of a number of amendments which senators tried to add to a pending energy policy bill—became moot when the Senate instead chose to adopt an energy bill it passed last year. A House-Senate conference committee now will try to reconcile differences between the different versions of the energy legislation. The Schumer provision could be proposed again for the conference bill, though Becky MacDicken, government affairs director for the Tire Industry Association, said she thought it is more likely to turn up attached to another bill. Schumer's proposal is similar to a bill that passed the California House of Representatives and is now being considered by the state Senate.