[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3059 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3059

     To increase the corporate average fuel economy standards for 
                  automobiles, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 17, 2007

 Mr. Barton of Texas (for himself, Mr. Hastert, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Putnam, 
 Mr. Stearns, Mr. Deal of Georgia, Mrs. Cubin, Mr. Shadegg, Mr. Buyer, 
 Mr. Radanovich, Mr. Walden of Oregon, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Burgess, Mr. 
 Gillmor, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Whitfield, Mr. Pitts, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. 
   Shimkus, Mr. Hall of Texas, Mr. Smith of Texas, Mr. Conaway, Mr. 
Gohmert, and Mr. McCaul of Texas) introduced the following bill; which 
          was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To increase the corporate average fuel economy standards for 
                  automobiles, 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. INCREASED AVERAGE FUEL ECONOMY STANDARDS.

    (a) Increased Standard.--Section 32902 of title 49, United States 
Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by striking ``At least'' and inserting ``(1) At 
                least'';
                    (B) by striking ``automobiles (except passenger 
                automobiles)'' and inserting ``non-passenger 
                automobiles'';
                    (C) by striking ``classes of automobiles'' and 
                inserting ``classes of non-passenger automobiles based 
                on vehicle attributes related to fuel economy''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(2) In prescribing average fuel economy standards under this 
section, the Secretary shall ensure that the average fuel economy 
standard for non-passenger automobiles manufactured by a manufacturer 
for model year 2022 and subsequent model years shall be not less than 
27.5 miles per gallon.'';
            (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
    ``(b) Passenger Automobiles.--(1) At least 18 months before the 
beginning of each model year, the Secretary shall prescribe by 
regulation average fuel economy standards for passenger automobiles 
manufactured by a manufacturer in that model year. Each standard shall 
be the maximum feasible average fuel economy level that the Secretary 
decides the manufacturers can achieve in that model year. The Secretary 
may prescribe separate standards for different classes of passenger 
automobiles based on vehicle attributes related to fuel economy.
    ``(2) In prescribing average fuel economy standards under this 
section, the Secretary shall ensure that the average fuel economy 
standard for passenger automobiles manufactured by a manufacturer for 
model year 2022 and subsequent model years shall be not less than 35 
miles per gallon.''; and
            (3) by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:
    ``(c) Alternative Minimum Standard for Passenger Automobiles.--(1) 
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, for any model year 
in which the Secretary prescribes average fuel economy standards for 
passenger automobiles on the basis of vehicle attributes, the average 
fuel economy standard for passenger automobiles manufactured by a 
manufacturer in that model year shall also provide for an alternative 
minimum standard that shall apply only to a manufacturer's domestically 
manufactured passenger automobiles.
    ``(2) The alternative minimum standard referred to in paragraph (1) 
shall be the greater of--
            ``(A) 27.5 miles per gallon; or
            ``(B) 92 percent of the average fuel economy projected by 
        the Secretary for the combined domestic and foreign fleets 
        manufactured for sale in the United States by all manufacturers 
        in that model year, which projection shall be published in the 
        Federal Register when the standard for that model year is 
        promulgated in accordance with this section.
    ``(3) The alternative minimum standard under this subsection shall 
apply to a manufacturer's domestically manufactured passenger 
automobiles only if the average fuel economy standard established for 
passenger automobiles on the basis of vehicle attributes pursuant to 
this section, excluding any credits transferred by the manufacturer 
pursuant to section 32903(g) from other categories of automobiles 
described in such section, would allow that manufacturer to comply with 
a less stringent average fuel economy standard than the alternative 
minimum standard.
    ``(4) If the Secretary prescribes standards for passenger 
automobiles on the basis of vehicle attributes, the Secretary shall 
provide a transition period during the first 3 model years in which an 
attribute-based standard would apply during which each manufacturer may 
elect whether to comply with the attribute-based standard or with the 
single corporate average fuel economy level prescribed under subsection 
(b).''.
    (b) Effective Date and Transition From Existing Standards.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
        amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date 
        of the enactment of this Act.
            (2) Transition for passenger automobiles.--The standard or 
        standards for passenger automobiles under the authority of 
        section 32902(b) of title 49, United States Code, in effect on 
        the day before the date of the enactment of this Act, shall 
        remain in effect until a standard for passenger automobiles is 
        prescribed pursuant to such section, as amended by this 
        section.
    (c) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--Chapter 329 of title 49, 
United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in section 32901(a)--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraph (16) as paragraph 
                (17); and
                    (B) by inserting after paragraph (15) the 
                following:
            ``(16) `non-passenger automobile' means an automobile that 
        is not a passenger automobile; and'';
            (2) in section 32902--
                    (A) in subsection (g)--
                            (i) in paragraph (1), by striking 
                        ``subsection (a) or (d)'' both places it 
                        appears and inserting ``subsection (a), (b), 
                        (c), or (d)''; and
                            (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking ``(and 
                        submit the amendment to Congress when required 
                        under subsection (c)(2) of this section)'';
                    (B) in subsection (h), by striking ``subsections 
                (c),'' and inserting ``subsections (b), (c)''; and
                    (C) in subsection (j), by striking ``subsection 
                (a),'' and inserting ``subsection (a), (b),'';
            (3) in section 32903--
                    (A) by striking ``section 32902(b)-(d) of this 
                title'' each place it appears and inserting 
                ``subsection (a) through (d) of section 32902'';
                    (B) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ``clause (1) 
                of this subsection'' and inserting ``paragraph (1)''; 
                and
                    (C) in subsection (e), by striking ``automobiles 
                that are not passenger automobiles'' and inserting 
                ``non-passenger automobiles''; and
            (4) in section 32909(b), by striking ``, except that a 
        petition for review'' and all that follows through ``referred 
        to in section 32902(c)(2)''.

SEC. 2. CREDIT TRANSFERRING WITHIN A MANUFACTURER'S FLEET.

    Section 32903 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(g) Credit Transferring Within a Manufacturer's Fleet.--(1) The 
Secretary of Transportation shall establish by regulation a corporate 
average fuel economy credit transferring program to allow any 
manufacturer whose automobiles exceed any of the average fuel economy 
standards prescribed under section 32902 to transfer the credits earned 
under this section and to apply such credits within that manufacturer's 
fleet to a compliance category of automobiles that fails to achieve the 
prescribed standards.
    ``(2) Credits transferred under this subsection are available to be 
used in the same model years that the manufacturer could have applied 
such credits under subsections (a), (b), (d), and (e), as well as for 
the model year in which the manufacturer earned such credits. The 
maximum increase in any compliance category attributable to transferred 
credits is 1.0 mile per gallon in any single model year.
    ``(3) In the case of transfers of credits to the category of 
automobiles described in paragraph (5)(B)(i), the transfer is limited 
to the extent that the fuel economy level of the manufacturer's fleet 
of passenger automobiles manufactured domestically shall comply with 
the provisions established under section 32902(c), excluding any 
transfers from other categories of automobiles described in paragraph 
(5)(B).
    ``(4) A credit transferred in conformance with this subsection may 
only be so transferred if such credit is earned in model year 2010 or 
any subsequent model year.
    ``(5) As used in this subsection--
            ``(A) the term `fleet' means all automobiles manufactured 
        by a manufacturer in a particular model year; and
            ``(B) the term `compliance category of automobiles' means 
        any of the 3 categories of automobiles for which compliance is 
        separately calculated under this chapter, namely--
                    ``(i) passenger automobiles manufactured 
                domestically;
                    ``(ii) passenger automobiles not manufactured 
                domestically; and
                    ``(iii) non-passenger automobiles.''.

SEC. 3. FUEL CONSERVATION EDUCATION PROGRAM.

    (a) Partnership.--The Secretary of Transportation shall enter into 
a partnership with interested industry groups, including groups from 
the automotive, gasoline refining, and oil industries, and groups 
representing the public interest and consumers to establish a public 
education campaign that provides information to United States drivers 
about immediate measures that may be taken to conserve transportation 
fuel.
    (b) Accessibility.--The public information campaign under this 
section shall be targeted to reach the widest audience possible. The 
education campaign may include television, print, Internet website, or 
any other method designed to maximize the dissemination of 
transportation fuel savings information to drivers.
    (c) Cost Sharing.--The Secretary shall provide no more than 50 
percent of the cost of the campaign created under this section. The 
Secretary is authorized to accept private funds to augment funds made 
available under this subsection.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary of Transportation such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out this section.
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