[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3488 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3488

    To direct the Secretary of Energy to carry out the Clean Cities 
                    program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 31, 2009

 Mr. Israel (for himself, Mr. Kirk, Mr. Sullivan, Mrs. Bono Mack, Mr. 
Boren, Mr. Wexler, Mr. Delahunt, Mr. Klein of Florida, Mr. Higgins, Mr. 
Bartlett, Ms. Schwartz, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, 
  Mr. Langevin, Mr. Holt, Mr. Thompson of California, Mr. Sires, Mr. 
Carnahan, Mr. Inslee, Mr. Welch, Mr. Tonko, Ms. Sutton, Mr. Massa, Mr. 
 Serrano, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Mr. Bishop of New York, Mr. Wittman, 
  Mr. Engel, and Mrs. Capps) introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To direct the Secretary of Energy to carry out the Clean Cities 
                    program, 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 ``Clean Cities Program Authorization 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) More than two-thirds of all petroleum used in the 
        United States for transportation is imported petroleum.
            (2) In 1993, to make the United States economically secure, 
        to lessen petroleum dependence, and to reduce tailpipe and 
        greenhouse gas emissions, the Department of Energy established 
        the Clean Cities program.
            (3) The program, a partnership between public and private 
        entities, is now the Department of Energy's flagship 
        transportation deployment and petroleum fuel reduction program.
            (4) The program is based on the concept that Federal 
        support can empower local citizens and organizations to become 
        the leaders of a national movement for change.
            (5) The program established a national network of nearly 90 
        coalitions comprised of local partnerships located in 
        communities representing three-quarters of the population of 
        the United States, with nearly 5,700 stakeholders from local 
        businesses, State and local governments, the transportation 
        industry, community organizations, and alternative fuel 
        providers.
            (6) In the past 10 years, the program has provided 
        $43,000,000 in competitive grant funds, which were leveraged 
        into $214,000,000 in matching funds from other organizations, 
        and the coalitions stretched these dollars even further by 
        obtaining an additional $845,000,000 in funding since 1993.
            (7) Marking more than 15 years of progress, the Clean 
        Cities program coalitions have reduced petroleum use by more 
        than 2,000,000,000 gallons, placed 500,000 alternative fuel 
        vehicles on the road, established alternative fuel 
        infrastructure in thousands of strategic locations, and moved 
        alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles into the 
        mainstream.
            (8) The program is ideally positioned to lead the United 
        States toward a clean, secure, and environmentally friendly 
        transportation future.

SEC. 3. CLEAN CITIES PROGRAM.

    (a) Authorization.--The Secretary of Energy shall carry out the 
Clean Cities program to encourage and accelerate the use of non-
petroleum based fuels, alternative fuel vehicles, and other advanced 
vehicle technologies and practices that achieve significant reduction 
in the overall use of petroleum in the transportation sector. Such 
program shall be a partnership between government and industry.
    (b) Program Requirements.--The program under subsection (a) shall--
            (1) promote the establishment of vehicle and infrastructure 
        projects that incorporate petroleum reduction technologies, and 
        include educational efforts to inform the public and government 
        officials on the benefits and advantages of using alternative 
        fuels and advanced technology vehicles technologies;
            (2) provide training, technical assistance, and tools to 
        end-users that adopt petroleum reduction technologies;
            (3) collaborate with and train fire officials, emergency 
        first responders, and safety code officials;
            (4) undertake coordinating efforts between Federal, local, 
        and State agencies and the alternative fuel and advanced 
        technology vehicle industry;
            (5) facilitate the development of necessary refueling and 
        service support infrastructure for petroleum reduction 
        technologies; and
            (6) develop Internet-based tools and resources for the 
        education and training of consumers and Clean Cities program 
        stakeholders.
    (c) Assistance Awards.--Under the program, the Secretary may 
provide direct financial assistance grants to local and State 
government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and alternative fuel and 
advanced technology vehicle stakeholders who are working with Clean 
Cities coalitions. These grants shall support the deployment and use of 
alternative fuels and petroleum reduction technologies in on-road 
vehicles.
    (d) Coalition Formation.--In carrying out the Clean Cities program 
the Secretary shall encourage and support the voluntary formation of 
local Clean Cities' organizations around the country. These local 
organizations shall be made up of State and local government officials 
and also include vehicle owners and operators, fuel and service 
providers, automobile dealers, community service organizations, and 
other private and public stakeholders interested in pursuing aggressive 
petroleum reduction goals in the transportation sector.
    (e) Definitions.--In this Act:
            (1) Alternative fuels.--The term ``alternative fuels'' has 
        the meaning given such term in section 301(2) of the Energy 
        Policy Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 13211(2)).
            (2) Alterative fueled vehicles.--The term ``alternative 
        fueled vehicles'' has the meaning given such term in section 
        301(3) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 13211(3)).
            (3) Program.--The term ``program'' means the Clean Cities 
        program.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of carrying 
out this Act, there are authorized to be appropriated $125,000,000 for 
the 5-fiscal-year period beginning in fiscal year 2010.
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