II 109th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 2025 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES November 16, 2005 Mr. Bayh (for himself, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Coleman, Mr. Graham, Mr. Salazar, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mr. Lugar, and Mr. Obama) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To promote the national security and stability of the United States economy by reducing the dependence of the United States on oil through the use of alternative fuels and new technology, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title; table of contents

(a)

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Vehicle and Fuel Choices for American Security Act. (b)

Table of contents

The table of contents of this Act is as follows: Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Findings and purposes. TITLE I—Oil savings plan and requirements Sec. 101. Oil savings target and action plan. Sec. 102. Standards and requirements. Sec. 103. Initial evaluation. Sec. 104. Review and update of action plan. Sec. 105. Baseline and analysis requirements. TITLE II—Fuel efficient vehicles for the 21st century Sec. 201. Tire efficiency program. Sec. 202. Reduction of school bus idling. Sec. 203. Fuel efficiency for heavy duty trucks. Sec. 204. Near-term vehicle technology program. Sec. 205. Lightweight materials research and development. Sec. 206. Hybrid and advanced diesel vehicles. Sec. 207. Advanced technology motor vehicles manufacturing credit. Sec. 208. Consumer incentives to purchase advanced technology vehicles. Sec. 209. Federal fleet requirements. Sec. 210. Tax incentives for private fleets. Sec. 211. Reducing incentives to guzzle gas. Sec. 212. Increasing the efficiency of motor vehicles. TITLE III—Fuel choices for the 21st century Sec. 301. Increase in alternative fuel vehicle refueling property credit. Sec. 302. Use of CAFÉ penalties to build alternative fueling infrastructure. Sec. 303. Minimum quantity of renewable fuel derived from cellulosic biomass. Sec. 304. Minimum quantity of renewable fuel derived from sugar. Sec. 305. Bioenergy research and development. Sec. 306. Production incentives for cellulosic biofuels. Sec. 307. Low-interest loan and grant program for retail delivery of E–85 fuel. Sec. 308. Transit-Oriented Development Corridors. TITLE IV—Nationwide energy security media campaign Sec. 401. Nationwide media campaign to decrease oil consumption.

2.

Findings and purposes

(a)

Findings

Congress finds that— (1)the United States is dangerously dependent on oil; (2)that dependence threatens the national security, weakens the economy, and harms the environment of the United States; (3)the United States currently imports nearly 60 percent of oil needed in the United States, and that percentage is expected to grow to almost 70 percent by 2025 if no actions are taken; (4)approximately 2,500,000 barrels of oil per day are imported from countries in the Persian Gulf region; (5)dependence on foreign oil has led to strategic partnerships with some regimes that do not share the democratic values of the United States; (6)terrorists have identified oil as a strategic vulnerability and have increased attacks against oil infrastructure worldwide; (7)oil imports comprise nearly 30 percent of the dangerously high United States trade deficit; (8)it is technically feasible to achieve oil savings of more than 2,500,000 barrels per day by 2017 and 7,000,000 barrels per day by 2026; (9)those goals can be achieved by establishing a set of flexible policies, including— (A)increasing the gasoline-efficiency of cars, trucks, tires, and oil; (B)providing economic incentives for companies and consumers to purchase fuel-efficient vehicles; (C)encouraging the use of transit and the reduction of truck idling; and (D)increasing production and commercialization of alternative liquid fuels; (10)technology available as of the date of enactment of this Act (including popular hybrid-electric vehicle models, the sales of which in the United States increased 173 percent in the first 5 months of 2005 as compared with the same period in 2004) make an oil savings plan eminently achievable; (11)achieving those goals will benefit consumers and businesses through lower fuel bills and reduction in world oil prices; (12)achieving those goals will help protect the economy of the United States from high and volatile oil prices; and (13)it is urgent, essential, and feasible to implement an action plan to achieve oil savings as soon as practicable because any delay in initiating action will— (A)make achieving necessary oil savings more difficult and expensive; and (B)increase the risks to the national security, economy, and environment of the United States. (b)

Purposes

The purposes of this Act are— (1)to accelerate market penetration of electric drive and alternative motor vehicles; (2)to enable the accelerated market penetration of efficient technologies and alternative fuels without adverse impact on air quality while maintaining a policy of fuel neutrality, so as to allow market forces to elect the technologies and fuels that are consumer-friendly, safe, environmentally-sound, and economic; (3)to provide time-limited financial incentives to encourage production and consumer purchase of oil saving technologies and fuels nationwide; and (4)to promote a nationwide diversity of motor vehicle fuels and advanced motor vehicle technology, including advanced lean burn technology, hybrid technology, flexible fuel motor vehicles, alternatively fueled motor vehicles, and other oil saving technologies.