WASHINGTON (June 22)—Repeating his actions of two years ago, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., is offering an amendment on the Senate floor to the Senate version of the energy bill to create a "National Tire Fuel Efficiency Program."
As with the California state bill passed two years ago, the Schumer amendment would set a minimum fuel economy standard for replacement tires at least equal to the average fuel economy of original equipment tires, as long as the standard was technically feasible and wouldn´t affect either safety or tread-life.
The Rubber Manufacturers Association, which already is fighting a tire fuel efficiency measure in Massachusetts, opposes the Schumer amendment. "Lowering a tire´s rolling resistance results in tire performance trade-offs that include less tread-life and decreased traction performance," the RMA said in a press release.
The House of Representatives passed an energy bill last April that does not include a fuel efficiency amendment, and the energy package will have to go to conference once the Senate finishes work on it.