Redmond Mayor John Marchione and Rep. Larry Springer of the state’s 45th Legislative District are among elected officials in the state of Washington who have joined with Gov. Chris Gregoire and the Sierra Club to push for stronger fuel efficiency standards.

On Oct. 1, the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation announced the intent to set fuel economy and global warming pollution standards for vehicles in model years 2017-2025.

Gov. Gregoire has been joined by Marchione, Springer and other elected officials to ask for standards of 60 miles per gallon (mpg) by 2025.

Fuel-saving technologies are available to get to, or surpass 60 mpg in 2025, which will save consumers money. In Washington state, the average consumer household will dave $850 a year at the pump by 2030 while the state as a whole will reduce oil consumption by 1.117 billion gallons, according to an analysis by The Union of Concerned Scientists and The Natural Resources Defense Council.

Many Washington state veterans also support the increased fuel efficiency standards for the ability to protect national security.

“By reducing our reliance on foreign oil, not only will we reduce our exposure to energy conflicts overseas, we will also give our energy dollars to American businesses. If we spend our energy dollars here at home, we can expand our clean energy production and increase our use of renewable energy, which could create millions of jobs that can’t be outsourced,” said Rick Hegdahl, senior advisor for VoteVets.org.