WASHINGTON, D.C. --- Congressional leaders on Friday reached a compromise on fuel-efficiency standards that drew support from Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), a key congressional ally of the auto industry. A vote on the energy bill is expected this week, the Washington Post reported. The final version of the bill will include the Senate's version's requirement that automakers achieve average fuel efficiency of 35 miles a gallon by 2020 --- about a 40 percent increase over current averages. The compromise also imposes looser standards for light trucks than for cars --- a concession that Dingell pushed for. The energy bill includes a major biofuels mandate, requiring refineries to use greater amounts of corn-based ethanol and, beginning in 2013, greater amounts of advanced biofuels made from other feedstocks, the Washington Post reported. "This landmark energy legislation will offer the automobile industry the certainty it needs, while offering flexibility to automakers and ensuring we keep American manufacturing jobs and continued domestic production of smaller vehicles," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) said in a statement she released.
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