Republican lawmaker gets riled over idling government cars

Uncle Sam is having some car trouble.

With gas prices climbing toward $5 per gallon nationwide, energy efficiency is all the rage these days. But some government employees just aren't conserving enough, says one Republican lawmaker.

Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley sent a letter to President Bush on Thursday expressing concern over "federal government SUVs and sedans idling for hours in Washington alone while waiting for their passengers." Grassley, who refers to his "farm-bred green thumb" on his official Web site, targeted those vehicles ferrying around high-level government officials -- including Cabinet secretaries -- as some of the biggest culprits of the practice.

Cars and other vehicles used for official government business come from a variety of sources. Agencies can contact the General Services Administration, which operates a fleet of about 210,000 vehicles including automobiles and passenger vans, or they can lease or purchase cars through commercial vendors. GSA's fleet also includes alternative fuel vehicles. But Grassley's beef was with drivers, more than the vehicles themselves.

"There are likely thousands of situations such as this where fuel is being wasted by federal employees who have never been instructed to use common sense to reduce fuel use in their daily job duties," Grassley said in his letter.

In his 2007 State of the Union address, Bush asked Americans to reduce their gasoline usage by 20 percent during the next decade. He then issued an executive order requiring the federal government to lead the way by cutting its energy consumption. Under the order, agencies operating fleets of at least 20 motor vehicles must reduce their use of petroleum products by 2 percent a year through the end of fiscal 2015.

Grassley, who is the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, said the government looks "out of touch" when drivers allow cars to idle as the rest of the country struggles with rising fuel prices.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain discussed his proposals for energy efficiency during a June campaign event in Santa Barbara, Calif., including a plan to push the government to buy more vehicles powered by alternative fuels. "If our great goal is to move American transportation toward lower carbon emissions, then it should start with the federal fleet," the Arizona senator said.