[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1915 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1915

  To promote the future of the American automobile industry, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 18, 2007

  Mr. Castle introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Science and Technology, and in addition to the Committees 
     on Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To promote the future of the American automobile industry, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``American Automobile Industry 
Promotion Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. ADVANCED ENERGY INITIATIVE FOR VEHICLES.

    (a) Purposes.--The purposes of this section are--
            (1) to enable and promote, in partnership with industry, 
        comprehensive development, demonstration, and commercialization 
        of a wide range of electric drive components, systems, and 
        vehicles using diverse electric drive transportation 
        technologies;
            (2) to make critical public investments to help private 
        industry, institutions of higher education, National 
        Laboratories, and research institutions to expand innovation, 
        industrial growth, and jobs in the United States;
            (3) to expand the availability of the existing electric 
        infrastructure for fueling light duty transportation and other 
        on-road and nonroad vehicles that are using petroleum and are 
        mobile sources of emissions--
                    (A) including the more than 3,000,000 reported 
                units (such as electric forklifts, golf carts, and 
                similar nonroad vehicles) in use on the date of 
                enactment of this Act; and
                    (B) with the goal of enhancing the energy security 
                of the United States, reducing dependence on imported 
                oil, and reducing emissions through the expansion of 
                grid-supported mobility;
            (4) to accelerate the widespread commercialization of all 
        types of electric drive vehicle technology into all sizes and 
        applications of vehicles, including commercialization of plug-
        in hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid fuel cell 
        vehicles; and
            (5) to improve the energy efficiency of, and reduce 
        petroleum use in, transportation.
    (b) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Battery.--The term ``battery'' means an energy storage 
        device used in an on-road or nonroad vehicle powered in whole 
        or in part using an off-board or on-board source of 
        electricity.
            (2) Electric drive transportation technology.--The term 
        ``electric drive transportation technology'' means--
                    (A) a vehicle that--
                            (i) uses an electric motor for all or part 
                        of the motive power of the vehicle; and
                            (ii) may use off-board electricity,
                including battery electric vehicles, fuel cell 
                vehicles, engine-dominant hybrid electric vehicles, 
                plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid fuel 
                cell vehicles, and electric rail; or
                    (B) equipment relating to transportation or mobile 
                sources of air pollution that uses an electric motor to 
                replace an internal combustion engine for all or part 
                of the work of the equipment, including corded electric 
                equipment linked to transportation or mobile sources of 
                air pollution.
            (3) Engine-dominant hybrid electric vehicle.--The term 
        ``engine-dominant hybrid electric vehicle'' means an on-road or 
        nonroad vehicle that--
                    (A) is propelled by an internal combustion engine 
                or heat engine using--
                            (i) any combustible fuel; and
                            (ii) an on-board, rechargeable storage 
                        device; and
                    (B) has no means of using an off-board source of 
                electricity.
            (4) Fuel cell vehicle.--The term ``fuel cell vehicle'' 
        means an on-road or nonroad vehicle that uses a fuel cell (as 
        defined in section 803 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 
        U.S.C. 16152)).
            (5) Initiative.--The term ``Initiative'' means the Advanced 
        Battery Initiative established by the Secretary under 
        subsection (f)(1).
            (6) Nonroad vehicle.--The term ``nonroad vehicle'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 216 of the Clean Air Act (42 
        U.S.C. 7550).
            (7) Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.--The term ``plug-in 
        hybrid electric vehicle'' means an on-road or nonroad vehicle 
        that is propelled by an internal combustion engine or heat 
        engine using--
                    (A) any combustible fuel;
                    (B) an on-board, rechargeable storage device; and
                    (C) a means of using an off-board source of 
                electricity.
            (8) Plug-in hybrid fuel cell vehicle.--The term ``plug-in 
        hybrid fuel cell vehicle'' means an onroad or nonroad vehicle 
        that is propelled by a fuel cell using--
                    (A) any compatible fuel;
                    (B) an on-board, rechargeable storage device; and
                    (C) a means of using an off-board source of 
                electricity.
            (9) Industry alliance.--The term ``Industry Alliance'' 
        means the entity selected by the Secretary under subsection 
        (f)(2).
            (10) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 
        15801).
            (11) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Energy.
    (c) Goals.--The goals of the electric drive transportation 
technology program established under subsection (e) shall be to 
develop, in partnership with industry and institutions of higher 
education, projects that focus on--
            (1) innovative electric drive technology developed in the 
        United States;
            (2) growth of employment in the United States in electric 
        drive design and manufacturing;
            (3) validation of the plug-in hybrid potential through 
        fleet demonstrations; and
            (4) acceleration of fuel cell commercialization through 
        comprehensive development and commercialization of battery 
        technology systems independent of fundamental fuel cell vehicle 
        technology development.
    (d) Assessment.--Not later than 120 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall offer to enter into an 
arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences--
            (1) to conduct an assessment (in cooperation with industry, 
        standards development organizations, and other entities, as 
        appropriate), of state-of-the-art battery technologies with 
        potential application for electric drive transportation;
            (2) to identify knowledge gaps in the scientific and 
        technological bases of battery manufacture and use;
            (3) to identify fundamental research areas that would 
        likely have a significant impact on the development of superior 
        battery technologies for electric drive vehicle applications; 
        and
            (4) to recommend steps to the Secretary to accelerate the 
        development of battery technologies for electric drive 
        transportation.
    (e) Program.--The Secretary shall conduct a program of research, 
development, demonstration, and commercial application for electric 
drive transportation technology, including--
            (1) high-capacity, high-efficiency batteries;
            (2) high-efficiency on-board and off-board charging 
        components;
            (3) high-powered drive train systems for passenger and 
        commercial vehicles and for nonroad equipment;
            (4) control system development and power train development 
        and integration for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in 
        hybrid fuel cell vehicles, and engine-dominant hybrid electric 
        vehicles, including--
                    (A) development of efficient cooling systems;
                    (B) analysis and development of control systems 
                that minimize the emissions profile when clean diesel 
                engines are part of a plug-in hybrid drive system; and
                    (C) development of different control systems that 
                optimize for different goals, including--
                            (i) battery life;
                            (ii) reduction of petroleum consumption; 
                        and
                            (iii) greenhouse gas reduction;
            (5) nanomaterial technology applied to both battery and 
        fuel cell systems;
            (6) large-scale demonstrations, testing, and evaluation of 
        plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in different applications with 
        different batteries and control systems, including--
                    (A) military applications;
                    (B) mass market passenger and light-duty truck 
                applications;
                    (C) private fleet applications; and
                    (D) medium- and heavy-duty applications;
            (7) a nationwide education strategy for electric drive 
        transportation technologies providing secondary school teaching 
        materials and support for education offered by institutions of 
        higher education that is focused on electric drive system and 
        component engineering;
            (8) development, in consultation with the Administrator of 
        the Environmental Protection Agency, of procedures for testing 
        and certification of criteria pollutants, fuel economy, and 
        petroleum use for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicle 
        applications, including consideration of--
                    (A) the vehicle and fuel as a system, not just an 
                engine; and
                    (B) nightly off-board charging; and
            (9) advancement of battery and corded electric 
        transportation technologies in mobile source applications by--
                    (A) improvement in battery, drive train, and 
                control system technologies; and
                    (B) working with industry and the Administrator of 
                the Environmental Protection Agency--
                            (i) to understand and inventory markets; 
                        and
                            (ii) to identify and implement methods of 
                        removing barriers for existing and emerging 
                        applications.
    (f) Advanced Battery Initiative.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish and carry 
        out an Advanced Battery Initiative in accordance with this 
        subsection to support research, development, demonstration, and 
        commercial application of battery technologies.
            (2) Industry alliance.--Not later than 180 days after the 
        date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
        competitively select an Industry Alliance to represent 
        participants who are private, for-profit firms headquartered in 
        the United States, the primary business of which is the 
        manufacturing of batteries.
            (3) Research.--
                    (A) Grants.--The Secretary shall carry out research 
                activities of the Initiative through competitively-
                awarded grants to--
                            (i) researchers, including Industry 
                        Alliance participants;
                            (ii) small businesses;
                            (iii) National Laboratories; and
                            (iv) institutions of higher education.
                    (B) Industry alliance.--The Secretary shall 
                annually solicit from the Industry Alliance--
                            (i) comments to identify advanced battery 
                        technology needs relevant to electric drive 
                        technology;
                            (ii) an assessment of the progress of 
                        research activities of the Initiative; and
                            (iii) assistance in annually updating 
                        advanced battery technology roadmaps.
            (4) Availability to the public.--The information and 
        roadmaps developed under this subsection shall be available to 
        the public.
            (5) Preference.--In making awards under this subsection, 
        the Secretary shall give preference to participants in the 
        Industry Alliance.
    (g) Cost Sharing.--In carrying out this section, the Secretary 
shall require cost sharing in accordance with section 988 of the Energy 
Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16352).
    (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $100,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2008 through 2012.

SEC. 3. AVAILABILITY OF NEW ADVANCED LEAN BURN TECHNOLOGY MOTOR VEHICLE 
              CREDIT FOR HIGH-EFFICIENCY DIESEL MOTOR VEHICLES THROUGH 
              TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF EMISSION STANDARDS.

    (a) In General.--Clause (iv) of section 30B(c)(3)(A) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (defining new advanced lean burn 
technology motor vehicle credit) is amended by striking ``2004'' and 
inserting ``2012''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall apply 
to property purchased after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. BIODIESEL STANDARDS.

    Section 211 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating the first subsection (r) (relating to 
        the definition of the term ``manufacturer'') as subsection (t) 
        and moving the subsection so as to appear after subsection (s); 
        and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (o) the following:
    ``(p) Biodiesel Standards.--
            ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Biodiesel.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The term `biodiesel' 
                        means the monoalkyl esters of long chain fatty 
                        acids derived from plant or animal matter that 
                        meet--
                                    ``(I) the registration requirements 
                                for fuels and fuel additives 
                                established under this section; and
                                    ``(II) the requirements of the 
                                American Society of Testing and 
                                Materials D6751.
                            ``(ii) Inclusions.--The term `biodiesel' 
                        includes esters described in clause (i) derived 
                        from--
                                    ``(I) animal waste, including 
                                poultry fat, poultry waste, and other 
                                waste material; and
                                    ``(II) municipal solid waste, 
                                sludge, and oil derived from wastewater 
                                or the treatment of wastewater.
                    ``(B) Biodiesel blend.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The term `biodiesel 
                        blend' means a mixture of biodiesel and diesel 
                        fuel (as defined in section 4083(a) of the 
                        Internal Revenue Code of 1986).
                            ``(ii) Inclusions.--The term `biodiesel 
                        blend' includes--
                                    ``(I) a blend of biodiesel and 
                                diesel fuel approximately 5 percent of 
                                the content of which is biodiesel 
                                (commonly known as `B5'); and
                                    ``(II) a blend of biodiesel and 
                                diesel fuel approximately 20 percent of 
                                the content of which is biodiesel 
                                (commonly known as `B20').
            ``(2) Standards.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        enactment of the American Automobile Industry Promotion Act of 
        2007, the Administrator shall promulgate regulations to 
        establish standards for each biodiesel blend that is sold or 
        introduced into commerce in the United States.''.
                                 <all>