Rep. John Dingell, a Democrat from Michigan and an ally of the automotive industry, said his comments indicating that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi agreed to entertain fuel economy legislation after Labor Day were taken out of context.

Dingell, speaking at an event on Capitol Hill, seemed to have been offering assurance to automakers that they would have a longer time period to build a base of support for their milder version of the hotly debated fuel standards legislation.

Later, however, Dingell issued a statement explaining that while he and Pelosi had a discussion about the timing of debate on the legislation, she gave no firm commitment and that his personal preference would be for the matter to be delayed until after Labor Day.

Dingell would like to see the issue of fuel economy debated in tandem with a broader piece of legislation addressing climate change. Those members who are pushing for dramatically higher fuel economy minimums want the measure on the floor before their summer break begins at the end of next week.

The group in favor of higher standards is seeking a minimum of 35 mpg by 2018 for both cars and trucks. Their plan is to see the standards attached to current energy legislation before the house.

The bill that has already passed through the Senate has set a level of 35 mpg for both classes of vehicle by 2020.

Carmakers and their supporters want to keep standards for cars and trucks separate with a combined average of between 32 to 35 mpg achieved by 2022.