The White House criticized the passage on Thursday of a Democrat-drafted energy bill in the House of Representatives, calling it rushed, partisan, and unacceptable to President George W. Bush. The energy bill would increase vehicle fuel-economy requirements by 40 percent by 2020, raise ethanol use five-fold by 2022, and impose $13 billion in new taxes on big energy companies. The plan passed by 235 to 181 in a mostly party-line vote. But it faces resistance in the Senate, and the White House reiterated Thursday it will veto the measure in its current form. “We believe that reducing our dependence on foreign oil and increasing energy security is an area where both [political] parties should be able to find common ground,” the White House said in a statement. “Unfortunately, Democratic leaders in the House [of Representatives pushed a partisan bill, that members had very little opportunity to study before the vote, which they knew was unacceptable to the president and had no chance being signed into law,” the statement said. “Their proposal would raise taxes and increase energy prices for Americans. That is a misguided approach, and if it made it to the president's desk, he would veto it,” the White House wrote. Last year, Bush proposed a plan to reduce U.S. consumption of gasoline by 20 percent in 10 years by expanding the use of alternative fuels and modernizing our fuel-economy standards. The White House said much of Bush's plan can be achieved without congressional legislation, “but we prefer a bipartisan approach in Congress that will improve our economic and energy security while protecting the environment. We hope the Senate will take a more cooperative approach and put forth a bill the president can sign” into law. Senate Republicans and the Bush administration say they will block a final bill if it includes a $21.5 billion tax package and a mandate for utilities to get 15 percent of their power from renewable sources like wind and solar by 2020.
