(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-07 11:28

WASHINGTON -- The US House of Representatives Thursday passed a new comprehensive energy bill that could change the way the country is fueled despite a veto threat from the White House.

Speaker of the House, Rep. Nancy Pelsoi, D-Calif., addresses the annual meeting of the Associated Press Managing Editors in Washington in this Oct. 4, 2007 file photo. Congressional Democrats reached a compromise late Friday to boost automobile fuel economy by 40 percent, clearing the way for a House vote probably next week on an energy bill that Democratic leaders would like to send to President Bush before Christmas. [Agencies]

The Energy Independence and Security Act, voted 235-181, will head to the Senate for approval.

The bill, if passed, would boost US automobile fuel economy by 40 percent to an industry average of 35 miles per gallon by 2020. It would be the first increase in the federal vehicle standard for cars in 32 years.

It also would require a sevenfold increase in the use of ethanol as a motor fuel to 36 billion gallons a year by 2022, with two-thirds to be cellulosic ethanol from such feedstock as prairie grass and wood chips.

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hailed the legislation, saying the bill is expected to be taken up by the Senate next week.

"It will be a shot heard round the world for energy independence in our country," she said. "It's about energy security, it's about environmental health, and it is a moral responsibility."

She said the prices of oil and natural gas may not go down tomorrow, but "we are making a plan for the future."

Democratic Rep. John Dingell, a longtime staunch protector of the auto industry, also said the bill contained landmark achievement.

"The bill is not the ultimate answer to our dependence on imported oil, to high energy prices, or to climate change, but it is a major and important step toward those goals," he said in a statement.

However, Republican minority leader John Boehner criticized the legislation as a "no-energy" bill that did little to help defend US energy security.

Under a 21-billion-dollar tax package, some 13.5 billion dollars in tax breaks for the five largest oil companies would be repealed to be used for tax incentives to promote renewable fuels and energy efficiency, according to the new energy bill.

Analysts said Exxon Mobile, Chevron, Conoco Philips, Royal Dutch Shell and BP would be the hardest hit by the tax repeals.

The American Petroleum Institute (API), which represents the major oil companies, has dismissed that the new oil taxes would cause companies to cut back on investment for producing oil and expanding refineries.

"The House ducked the opportunity to craft balanced energy legislation that would ensure reliable energy supplies for American consumers," said a statement by the API.

"The tax provisions are counterproductive, making it more difficult to expand domestic oil and natural gas production and refining capacity while costing American jobs," the statement added.

The White House repeated a veto threat. "Their proposal would raise taxes and increase energy prices for Americans," the White House said in a statement.

"That is a misguided approach and if it made it to the President's desk, he would veto it," it added.

Democrats control the House 233-199, while Democrats have a 51-49 majority in the Senate. If Republicans can invoke rules requiring that the bill need 60 votes to pass, the Democrats could not meet the standard.

It was a bill "that's not going to become law, it may not even come up in the Senate," said Representative Joe Barton, senior Republican on the Energy and Commerce Committee.