[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4711 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4711

To provide that the delivery vehicle fleet of the United States Postal 
            Service be replaced by electric motor vehicles.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 26, 2010

 Mr. Connolly of Virginia (for himself and Ms. Norton) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and 
                           Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide that the delivery vehicle fleet of the United States Postal 
            Service be replaced by electric motor vehicles.

    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 ``Postal Service Electric Motor 
Vehicle Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) Postal Service delivery vehicles which operate using 
        gasoline have an average fuel economy of 8 to 12 miles per 
        gallon;
            (2) the Inspector General of the United States Postal 
        Service recently estimated that, for each delivery vehicle 
        converted from gasoline to electric, the Postal Service would 
        save approximately $1,500 in fuel costs each year;
            (3) 97 percent of Postal Service delivery routes are less 
        than 40 miles long; and
            (4) it is in the national interest to reduce American 
        dependence on foreign oil and to support domestic automobile 
        manufacturing.

SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) In General.--The Postmaster General shall--
            (1) during each year in the 5-year period beginning on the 
        date of enactment of this Act, replace at least 10 percent of 
        the gasoline-powered motor vehicles in the Postal fleet with 
        electric motor vehicles;
            (2) take such measures as may be necessary to ensure that, 
        by the end of the 5-year period described in paragraph (1), at 
        least 75 percent of the Postal fleet is comprised of electric 
        motor vehicles; and
            (3) carry out the preceding provisions of this subsection, 
        in coordination with local electric distribution companies, in 
        a manner consistent with the goals of--
                    (A) maintaining electric grid reliability; and
                    (B) minimizing charging costs of electric motor 
                vehicles in the Postal fleet.
    (b) Buy American.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
electric motor vehicles acquired to carry out this Act shall be 
electric motor vehicles manufactured in the United States. The 
Postmaster General shall ensure that manufacturers of electric motor 
vehicles so acquired solicit competitive bids for electric drive 
components and storage devices from domestic manufacturers that 
participate in the Department of Energy's Electric Drive Vehicle 
Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative (or successor program, 
as determined by the Postmaster General in consultation with the 
Secretary of Energy).
    (c) Oversight.--Not later than 30 days after the end of each fiscal 
year, the Postal Service shall submit to the Postal Regulatory 
Commission a report that includes a detailed accounting of the 
expenditures made, savings realized, and revenues received by the 
Postal Service pursuant to this section. Within 90 days after receiving 
a report under the preceding sentence, the Postal Regulatory Commission 
shall submit to Congress a copy of such report, together with any 
findings and recommendations which the Commission considers 
appropriate. In addition to any information otherwise required, each 
report under this subsection shall include--
            (1) an assessment of how replacing gasoline-powered motor 
        vehicles with electric motor vehicles meets goals or objectives 
        established by the Postal Service for the replacement of the 
        Postal fleet; and
            (2) the economic and environmental impact which the actions 
        taken by the Postal Service under subsection (a) have had, 
        including with respect to--
                    (A) projected per vehicle operating costs per mile;
                    (B) projected revenues from vehicle-to-grid and 
                other grid-related services; and
                    (C) emissions reduction and other environmental 
                benefits.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act--
            (1) the term ``motor vehicle'' means any self-propelled 
        vehicle designed for transporting persons or property on a 
        street or highway;
            (2) the term ``electric motor vehicle'' means a motor 
        vehicle powered solely by an electric motor that draws current 
        from rechargeable storage batteries, fuel cells, photovoltaic 
        arrays, or other sources of electric current;
            (3) the term ``Postal fleet'' means that portion of the 
        Federal fleet (within the meaning of section 303(b) of the 
        Energy Policy Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 13212(b)) which is owned, 
        operated, leased, or otherwise controlled by or assigned to the 
        Postal Service and used primarily in the delivery of mail;
            (4) the term ``Postal Service'' means the United States 
        Postal Service; and
            (5) the term ``United States'', as used in a geographical 
        sense, includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 
        Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American 
        Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and 
        any other Commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United 
        States.
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