He has owned a Ford hybrid for years.
So, when he teamed with another U.S. senator, Ron Wyden of Oregon, to offer a tax credit to people who buy hybrid cars, he could bring his own experience to the table.
His bill has several good things going for it. By offering tax credits to people who buy vehicles that exceed the federal mileage standards by at least 25 percent, the program would help reduce dependence on foreign oil. That would help both the economy and national security.
The bill doesn't pick a technology - hydrogen fuel cell, plug-in electric, gasoline-electric, it doesn't matter. That's smart, too. No one knows which technology will emerge as best or most popular, and a neutral bill allows all to compete on an equal footing.
What the bill does reward is fuel economy. The available credit would rise with efficiency, from $630 to as much as $1,860. The amount of the credit would be printed on sticker windows of new vehicles, and the buyer could claim it on her tax return or transfer it to the auto dealer, thereby getting cash back at purchase time.
The idea of a tax credit is attractive because hybrid cars and light trucks often are several thousand dollars more expensive than comparable models with conventional engines. That little bit of financial help might convince more drivers to take the plunge with a hybrid, especially given the fuel savings over the long term.
Presumably, as more drivers buy hybrids, manufacturers will be able to reduce the unit cost.
Bennett, a Republican, and Wyden, a Democrat, also have identified a way to pay for the credit. They would eliminate a tax advantage that major oil companies now receive that, according to the senators, the companies agree they do not need. (Really. That's what the senators said.) That would provide an additional $6.8 billion to the treasury over five years, enough to fund the new tax credit program for hybrid vehicles.
The big payoff, of course, would be cleaner air. It's harder to put a price on that, but with global warming and the pollution-trapping temperature inversions of the Wasatch Front, that's something of incalculable value.
