[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 53 (Wednesday, April 25, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3917-S3918]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      THE CLEAN EFFICIENT AUTOMOBILES RESULTING FROM ADVANCED CAR 
                        TECHNOLOGIES ACT OF 2001

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today to address a bill I have just 
introduced, S. 760, the ``CLEAR Act,'' which is short for the Clean 
Efficient Automobiles Resulting from Advanced Car Technologies Act.
  Let me begin my remarks by thanking the original cosponsors of S. 
760, Senators Rockefeller, Jeffords, Kerry, Crapo, Lieberman, Collins, 
Chafee,  and Gordon Smith, all of whom have joined with me in drafting 
this legislation which will help our country achieve a greater reliance 
on alternative fuel technologies.
  Our proposal relies on a system of tax-based incentives to encourage 
development of alternative fuel technologies and consumer acceptance of 
these products. Rather than rely on a system of federal mandates, we 
use tax credits to promote all of the advanced technologies being 
pursued by auto manufacturers in a dramatic effort to reduce emissions 
and improve efficiency. These technologies include: fuel cell; hybrid 
electric; alternative fuel; and battery electric vehicles.
  It is significant that our bipartisan initiative is founded on a 
belief that government should not be in the business of picking winners 
and losers in the free market. Rather, the CLEAR Act leaves it up to 
the consumer to choose among the lowest emitting vehicles.
  By promoting the technologies and fuels that improve air quality, S. 
760 helps to solve two of our nation's most difficult and expensive 
problems, air pollution and energy dependence. These are issues of 
critical concern in my home state of Utah. According to a study by 
Utah's Division of Air Quality, on-road vehicles in Utah account for 22 
percent of particulate matter. This particulate matter can be harmful 
to citizens who suffer from chronic respiratory or heart disease, 
influenza, or asthma.
  Automobiles also contribute significantly to hydrocarbon and nitrogen 
oxide emissions in my state. These two pollutants react in sunlight to 
form ozone, which in turn reduces lung function in humans and hurts our 
resistance to colds and asthma. In addition, vehicles account for as 
much as 87 percent of carbon monoxide emissions. Carbon monoxide can be 
harmful to persons with heart, respiratory, or circulatory ailments.
  While Utah has made important strides in improving air quality, it is 
a fact that each year more vehicular miles are driven in our State. It 
is clear that if we are to have cleaner air, we must encourage the use 
of alternative fuels and technologies to reduce vehicle emissions.
  Let me paint the picture on the national scale. In 1998, a year for 
which we have complete data, our nation had 121 regions that failed to 
attain the Environmental Protection Agency's National Ambient Air 
Quality Standards, NAAQS. This status directly threatens the quality of 
life of more than 100 million, or about one-third, of our citizens who 
must bear the health and the economic burden associated with non-
attainment. Non-attainment status can be costly, whether due to the 
loss of federal highway money, lost economic opportunities, or the 
expensive measures required to reach attainment.
  EPA has set new standards for both ozone and particulate matter, PM 
2.5. By the EPA's own estimates, the annual cost of achieving the new 
ozone standard in 2010 was set at $9.6 billion. Additionally, the EPA 
put the annual cost of achieving the PM 2.5 standard at $37 billion, 
for a combined cost of $47 billion annually. These staggering figures 
paint a graphic picture of why we need to invest more effort toward the 
promotion of alternative fuels. Every new alternative fuel or advanced 
technology car, truck, or bus on the road will displace a conventional 
vehicle's lifetime of emissions and reliance on imported oil.
  This brings me to another important benefit of the CLEAR Act, 
increased energy independence. Whether during

[[Page S3918]]

the energy crisis in the 1970s, during the Persian Gulf War, or during 
our current energy crisis, every American has felt the sting of our 
dependency on foreign oil. And I might add, Mr. President, that our 
dependency on foreign oil has steadily increased to the point where we 
now depend on foreign sources for more than 57 percent of our oil. Last 
month alone, it was over 60 percent. When enacted, the CLEAR Act will 
play a key role in helping our nation improve its energy security by 
increasing the diversity of our fuel options and decreasing our need 
for gasoline. Our nation's energy strategy will not be complete without 
an incentive to increase the use of alternative fuels and advanced car 
technologies.
  Historically, consumers have faced three basic obstacles to accepting 
the use of alternative fuels and advanced technologies. These are the 
cost of the vehicles, the cost of alternative fuel, and the lack of an 
adequate infrastructure of alternative fueling stations. The CLEAR Act 
would lower all three of these barriers.
  First, we provide a tax credit of 50 cents per gasoline-gallon 
equivalent for the purchase of alternative fuel at retail. To give 
customers better access to alternative fuel, we extend an existing 
deduction for the capital costs of installing alternative fueling 
stations. We also provide a 50 percent credit for the installation 
costs of retail and residential refueling stations.
  Finally, we provide tax credits to consumers to purchase alternative 
fuel and advanced technology vehicles. To make certain that the tax 
benefit we provide translates into a corresponding benefit to the 
environment, we split the vehicle tax credit into two. One part 
provides a base tax credit for the purchase of vehicles dedicated to 
the use of alternative fuel or vehicles using advanced technologies. 
The other part offers a bonus credit based on the vehicle's efficiency 
and reduction in emissions. In this way, we are confident that the 
CLEAR Act will provide the biggest possible ``bang for the buck'' in 
terms of providing a social benefit to our citizens.
  We all recognize that in the future we will not use gasoline fueled 
vehicles to the same extent we do today. Our legislation is an attempt 
to bring benefits of cleaner air to our citizens sooner, to free our 
cities from expensive EPA regulations, and to reduce our consumption of 
foreign oil. S. 760 enables us to tackle these problems with 
incentives, not mandates.

  Our proposal is the most comprehensive legislation ever brought 
before Congress to promote the use of alternative fuel vehicles and 
advanced car technologies among consumers. We urge our colleagues to 
join with us in this forward-looking approach to cleaner air and 
increased energy independence.

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