Jun. 28--WASHINGTON -- Backers of tougher fuel economy standards in the U.S. House pledged Wednesday to push their proposals ahead over the next several weeks, while U.S. Rep. John Dingell said his committee will wait until later this year before tackli g any such plan.

But if the debate reaches the House floor next month, Dingell and the industry's supporters will be ready with their own fuel economy plan, if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D.-Calif., decides to let the debate get that far. Details on the alternative being worked on by Dingell, Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., and others weren't available Wednesday, but an earlier proposal from Dingell's committee called for the industry to meet standards of 36 m.p.g. for cars after 2021 and 30 m p.g. for trucks after 2024. The bills under consideration Wednesday are part of a package of energy bills that Pelosi will unveil today under her goal of having an "energy independence" proposal by July 4. Dingell withdrew the earlier fuel economy pitch after opposition from Pelos and backers of a more stringent increase.

While the committee bills will not contain any fuel economy proposals, supporters may still push their plan on the House floor when it debates the Democratic bill next month. The Senate approved a bill last week to boost fuel economy standards for new v hicles to 35 miles per gallon by 2020, the first time either house of Congress has voted to increase the standards since they were introduced in 1975. Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., the main proponent of an increase to 35 miles per gallon by 2018, said the future of the United States depends on toughening fuel economy standards. "We will pass a tough fuel economy standard soon just as the Senate has done," Markey said.

"I do believe before this summer is done we will have finally addressed this issue." The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the trade group that includes Detroit automakers and Toyota Motor Co., called Markey's proposal "overly aggressive and unrealistic" in a letter to lawmakers Wednesday. Stepping up its criticism of the Senate bill, the group said it gave an unfair advantage to one foreign automaker -- Nissan Motor Co. -- and could force the industry to stop building larger trucks and SUVs. The Senate bill drops a requirement for a sepa ate mileage standard on imported cars that Nissan is in danger of violating.

The energy bills considered in Dingell's House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday cover a variety of topics, from tougher efficiency standards for refrigerators to setting up $1 billion in loan guarantees for developing new sources of ethanol. But the bills drew several complaints from Democrats and Republicans for being too narrowly written. Under committee rules, many of the amendments that members wanted to add to the bills -- from fuel economy standards to funding for coal-based fuels -- ere off-limits, a move Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., called putting "the shackles and the tourniquets on the legislative process." Dingell said he realized the bills "may have displeased some of our more ideologically inclined colleagues on the left and right," but said getting the energy package to the House floor required focusing on topics where there was a consensus.

More divisive debates "will be addressed in the fall in the context of comprehensive climate change legislation," Dingell said. "We will need to get beyond the stale debate over miles per gallon." In that bill, Dingell said, he would likely set a target for U.S. greenhouse gas reductions of 60% to 80% by 2050 -- a level that several environmental researchers say would be necessary to avoid a dangerous rise in global temperatures. That brought a warm response from MoveOn.org, the liberal group that picketed Dingell's office Wednesday over his stance on global warming and fuel economy standards.

At Dingell's Ypsilanti office, about half a dozen MoveOn supporters received an unexpe ted welcome from roughly 60 UAW members, including President Ron Gettelfinger, who rallied to support Dingell. Contact JUSTIN HYDE at 202-906-8204 or jhyde@freepress.com.