Congress’s last effort to craft a decent energy strategy, in 2005, was largely disappointing. But at the risk of getting our hopes up once again, we call attention to two promising bills making their way to the Senate floor. Stapled together, they could make a constructive start toward reducing this country’s dependence on oil imports and its emissions of greenhouse gases.

The first, championed by Senators Jeff Bingaman and Pete Domenici of New Mexico, has three main objectives. It seeks to reduce oil consumption by quintupling the production of biofuels — principally ethanol from sources other than corn — by 2022. It would mandate stronger efficiency standards for energy-intensive household appliances, including lighting fixtures and refrigerators.

And, perhaps most important, it would try to bring to commercial scale the government’s nascent efforts to build coal-fired power plants capable of capturing and storing emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas. Coal will remain the world’s most plentiful fuel, and unless some way is found to neutralize its emissions, the battle to stabilize emissions is almost certainly lost.

The other important bill, known as the Ten-in-Ten Fuel Economy Act, was approved last week and is mainly the handiwork of Senator Dianne Feinstein of California. It would raise the fuel economy standard for passenger cars from 25 to 35 miles per gallon over the next 10 years, and — for the first time — would require steady improvements in fuel efficiency for medium and heavy-duty trucks. The debate over fuel economy has been deadlocked for three decades, and approval of this bill would represent a major breakthrough.