mr. chairman , i yield myself 1 minute . 
mr. chairman , let me make several quick points . 
first , we can not become less dependent on foreign oil unless we increase the fuel economy of our vehicles . 
we are importing 14 million barrels of oil every day . 
cars and light trucks consume 9 million barrels of oil every day , and consumption is going up not down . 
we are on a collision course with disaster . 
second , we have been losing ground on fuel economy . 
we use more gas to drive a mile today than we did 20 years ago . 
third , this amendment would cut , would cut u.s. consumption by 2 million barrels a day by 2020 , more of a savings than any other single source in the bill . 
fourth , the national academy of sciences said that full economy can be increased `` without degradation of safety. '' a representative of the alliance of automobile manufacturers confirmed at a recent science committee hearing that i chaired that cafe could be increased without compromising safety . 
finally , the biggest beneficiary of this amendment will be the consumers . 
they are sick and tired of paying skyrocketing prices for gasoline , $ 40 to $ 50 to fill up . 
they want relief . 
this amendment offers them hope that we are doing something about it . 
finally , support this commonsense science-based amendment that will help the nation while leaving more money in consumer 's pockets , theirs not ours . 
