[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 54 (Thursday, April 28, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4585-S4586]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HATCH (for himself, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Ensign, Mr. 
        Chafee, Ms. Collins, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. Lieberman, 
        and Mr. Smith):
  S. 971. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to 
encourage and accelerate the nationwide production, retail sale, and 
consumer use of new motor vehicles that are powered by fuel cell 
technology, hybrid technology, battery electric technology, alternative 
fuels, or other advanced motor vehicle technologies, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the CLEAR ACT, 
the Clean Efficient Automobiles Resulting from Advanced Car 
Technologies Act of 2005. This bill passed the Senate as part of the 
omnibus energy bill last year, but unfortunately was not enacted.
  Let me begin by thanking those who are cosponsoring this bill, namely 
Senators Rockefeller, Ensign, Chafee, Collins, Snowe, Jeffords, 
Lieberman and Smith. And I know that a number of other senators will 
add their names to this legislation in the near future. I appreciate 
their previous support and look forward to working with them to promote 
the CLEAR ACT in this Congress.
  The CLEAR ACT addresses two issues of critical national importance: 
our dependence on foreign oil; and air pollution. Ultimately, two-
thirds of our oil use is consumed by the transportation sector, and 
transportation in the United States is 97 percent dependent on oil. If 
we are going to address our energy crisis, we have to address our 
transportation fuels and vehicle use in a serious way.
  I was very pleased that President Bush, yesterday, highlighted the 
need to direct the automotive marketplace toward the widespread use of 
hybrid

[[Page S4586]]

and alternative fuel vehicles. The CLEAR ACT provides powerful market 
incentives to achieve that goal. It promotes the combination of 
advances we must have in technology, infrastructure, and alternative 
fuels in order to bring fuel cell vehicles to a future mass market 
reality. Even if, in the end, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles prove 
infeasible, the battery electric and alternative fuel technologies 
promoted by this bill will play a major role in improving our energy 
security and our air quality. And we do so without any new federal 
mandates.
  Currently, consumers face three basic obstacles to accepting the use 
of these alternative fueled and advanced technology vehicles. They are 
the cost of the alternative fuel, the lack of an adequate 
infrastructure of alternative fueling stations, and the incremental 
cost of alternative fuel vehicles. The CLEAR ACT attacks each of these 
obstacles head on, and it is crafted in a way to encourage the greatest 
social benefit possible for every tax dollar spent.
  We need to find a way to lower those barriers to widespread consumer 
acceptance, which will in turn put the power of mass production to work 
to lower the incremental cost of these alternative technologies.
  In short, our legislation would bring the benefits of cleaner air and 
energy independence to our citizens sooner.
  I have heard one or two senators ask why we need incentives to 
purchase hybrid vehicles when people are lining up to buy them today. 
It is true that demand for these vehicles is high in a few areas. 
However, these high-demand areas tend to have local or state incentives 
in place for the purchase of the vehicles. Where incentives are not in 
place, hybrid sales are minimal. This demonstrates that incentives can 
indeed provide a market breakthrough to consumer acceptance of 
alternatives vehicles. With the CLEAR ACT we are trying to provide that 
breakthrough on a national scale.
  In 2004, hybrid vehicles made up only 0.48 percent of light weight 
vehicle sales. That's far short of where we need to be as a nation to 
make a dent in our energy crisis, but at least it's a start.
  Air pollution is an issue of critical concern in my home State of 
Utah. While Utah has made important strides in improving air quality, 
it is a fact that each year we increase the number of vehicular miles 
driven in our State and mobile sources are the main cause of air 
pollution in Utah.
  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.
  The CLEAR ACT will help us do just that.
  I am very proud to offer this ground-breaking and bipartisan 
legislation.
  It represents the input and hard work of a very powerful and 
effective coalition--the CLEAR ACT Coalition. This coalition includes 
the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Natural Resource Defense 
Council, Environmental Defense, the Alliance to save Energy, Ford Motor 
Company, Toyota, Honda, the Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition, the Propane 
Vehicle Council, the Methanol Institute, the Electric Drive 
Transportation Association, and others. The CLEAR ACT reflects the 
untiring effort and expertise of the members of this coalition, and for 
this we owe them our gratitude.
  I urge my colleagues in the Senate to join us in this forward-looking 
approach to cleaner air and increased energy independence.
                                 ______