mr. chairman , i rise today in strong support of the boehlert-markey amendment to raise fuel economy standards for automobiles and i thank the gentlemen offering this amendment for yielding me time . 
mr. chairman , we have heard it repeated over and over during debate on this bill from members on both sides of the aisle -- we must reduce our dependence on foreign sources of oil , and we must stabilize our energy costs . 
yet h.r. 6 does none of these things ! 
that is why i strongly support this amendment to raise the average of 25 miles per gallon to 33 miles per gallon over the next ten years . 
increasing the fuel economy is one important step we can take towards making all this rhetoric a reality . 
this amendment truly does benefit our national security , our economy , and consumers . 
raising fuel economy standards would reap suv , pickup truck , and minivan owners a net savings of up to two thousand dollars in some cases . 
it would also alleviate the need for the u.s. to send over $ 25 million abroad each hour to pay for foreign oil . 
these payments increase the trade imbalance , reduce the strength of the dollar , drive up-the cost of other imported goods , and stunts the growth of the nation 's gdp . 
in addition , many of the world 's major auto-makers recently signed an agreement with the government of canada that commits them to improving fuel economy standards by 25 percent by 2010 . 
china will soon produce cars and trucks that are more energy-efficient than the u.s. fleet . 
considering that the u.s. consumes a quarter of the world 's oil , we must keep pace with these other countries and improve our fuel economy standards . 
this amendment matches the rhetoric by truly reducing our dependence on foreign oil , helping our economy , and benefiting consumers . 
i urge my colleagues to support this amendment . 
