By John Donnelly, Globe Staff | July 30, 2007

WASHINGTON — More than a quarter century after Congress wrote the rules setting automobile fuel economy standards, lawmakers are poised to make substantial increases in them, amid rising oil imports and prices.

The debate on mandating higher fuel standards for cars and trucks is unfolding in the House, which could take up the issue this week as part of a comprehensive energy bill.

The Senate has already passed legislation that would increase standards for cars and light trucks to an average of 35 miles per gallon by 2020, but the House is divided on two measures.

Representative Edward J. Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, is sponsoring a bill that calls for a 35-miles-per-gallon standard by 2019. Another House bill, endorsed by more than 40 Democrats and 60 Republicans and backed by much of the auto industry, calls for a standard of at least 32 miles per gallon for cars and trucks by 2022.

A 32-miles-per-gallon standard would represent an increase of only 6.6 miles per gallon in fuel efficiency standards over the next 15 years, far short of what federal researchers have found can be practically achieved, according to documents dating to 1979 that were reviewed by the Globe.

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