[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 112 (Friday, September 9, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9877-S9879]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DURBIN:
  S. 1648. A bill to amend title 49, United States Code, to improve the 
system for enhancing automobile fuel efficiency, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

                                S. 1648

       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 ``Automobile Fuel Efficiency 
     Improvements Act of 2005''.

     SEC. 2. PHASED INCREASES IN FUEL ECONOMY STANDARDS.

       (a) Passenger Automobiles.--
       (1) Minimum standards.--Section 32902(b) of title 49, 
     United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
       ``(b) Passenger Automobiles.--Except as otherwise provided 
     under this section, the average fuel economy standard for 
     passenger automobiles manufactured by a manufacturer in a 
     model year--
       ``(1) after model year 1984 and before model year 2008 
     shall be 25 miles per gallon;
       ``(2) after model year 2007 and before model year 2011 
     shall be 28 miles per gallon;
       ``(3) after model year 2010 and before model year 2014 
     shall be 32 miles per gallon;
       ``(4) after model year 2013 and before model year 2017 
     shall be 36 miles per gallon; and
       ``(5) after model year 2016 shall be 40 miles per 
     gallon.''.
       (2) Higher standards set by regulation.--Section 32902(c) 
     of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
       (A) by striking paragraph (2); and
       (B) in paragraph (1)--
       (i) by striking ``Subject to paragraph (2) of this 
     subsection, the'' and inserting ``The''; and
       (ii) by striking ``amending the standard'' and inserting 
     ``increasing the standard otherwise applicable'';
       (iii) by striking ``Section 553'' and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(2) Section 553''.
       (b) Non-Passenger Automobiles.--Section 32902(a) of title 
     49, United States Code, is amended--

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       (1) by striking ``At least 18 months before each model 
     year,'' and inserting the following:
       ``(1) The average fuel economy standard applicable for 
     automobiles (except passenger automobiles) manufactured by a 
     manufacturer in a model year--
       ``(A) after model year 1984 and before model year 2008 
     shall be 17 miles per gallon;
       ``(B) after model year 2007 and before model year 2011 
     shall be 19 miles per gallon;
       ``(C) after model year 2010 and before model year 2014 
     shall be 21.5 miles per gallon;
       ``(D) after model year 2013 and before model year 2017 
     shall be 24.5 miles per gallon; and
       ``(E) after model year 2016 shall be 27.5 miles per gallon, 
     except as provided under paragraph (2).
       ``(2) At least 18 months before the beginning of each model 
     year after model year 2017,''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(3) If the Secretary does not increase the average fuel 
     economy standard applicable under paragraph (1)(E) or (2), or 
     applicable to any class under paragraph (2), within 24 months 
     after the latest increase in the standard applicable under 
     paragraph (1)(E) or (2), the Secretary, not later than 90 
     days after the expiration of the 24-month period, shall 
     submit to Congress a report containing an explanation of the 
     reasons for not increasing the standard.''.

     SEC. 3. INCREASED INCLUSIVENESS OF DEFINITIONS OF AUTOMOBILE 
                   AND PASSENGER AUTOMOBILE.

       (a) Automobile.--
       (1) In general.--Section 32901(a)(3) of title 49, United 
     States Code, is amended--
       (A) by striking ``6,000 pounds'' each place it appears and 
     inserting ``12,000 pounds''; and
       (B) in subparagraph (B)--
       (i) by striking ``10,000 pounds'' and inserting ``14,000 
     pounds''; and
       (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ``an average fuel economy 
     standard'' and all that follows through ``conservation or''.
       (2) Special rule.--Section 32908(a)(1) of such title is 
     amended by striking ``8,500 pounds'' and inserting ``14,000 
     pounds''.
       (b) Passenger Automobile.--Section 32901(a)(16) of title 
     49, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
       ``(16) `passenger automobile'--
       ``(A) means, except as provided in subparagraph (B), an 
     automobile having a gross vehicle weight of 12,000 pounds or 
     less that is designed to be used principally for the 
     transportation of persons; but
       ``(B) does not include--
       ``(i) a vehicle that has a primary load carrying device or 
     container attached;
       ``(ii) a vehicle that has a seating capacity of more than 
     12 persons;
       ``(iii) a vehicle that has a seating capacity of more than 
     9 persons behind the driver's seat; or
       ``(iv) a vehicle that is equipped with a cargo area of at 
     least 6 feet in interior length that does not extend beyond 
     the frame of the vehicle and is an open area or is designed 
     for use as an open area but is enclosed by a cap and is not 
     readily accessible directly from the passenger 
     compartment.''.
       (c) Applicability.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply with respect to automobiles manufactured for 
     model years beginning after the date of enactment of this 
     Act.

     SEC. 4. CIVIL PENALTIES.

       (a) Increased Penalty for Violations of Fuel Economy 
     Standards.--Section 32912(b) of title 49, United States Code, 
     is amended--
       (1) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``Except as provided'';
       (2) by striking ``$5'' and inserting ``the dollar amount 
     applicable under paragraph (2)'';
       (3) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) as 
     subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), respectively; and
       (4) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(2)(A) The dollar amount referred to in paragraph (1) is 
     $10, as increased from time to time under subparagraph (B).
       ``(B) Effective on October 1 of each year, the dollar 
     amount applicable under subparagraph (A) shall be increased 
     by the percentage (rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one 
     percent) by which the price index for July of such year 
     exceeds the price index for July of the preceding year. The 
     amount calculated under the preceding sentence shall be 
     rounded to the nearest $0.10.
       ``(C) In this paragraph, the term `price index' means the 
     Consumer Price Index for all-urban consumers published 
     monthly by the Department of Labor.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 32912(c)(1) of title 49, 
     United States Code, is amended--
       (1) by striking subparagraph (B); and
       (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as 
     subparagraphs (B) and (C), respectively.
       (c) Applicability.--The amendments made by subsection (a) 
     shall apply with respect to automobiles manufactured for 
     model years beginning after the date of enactment of this 
     Act.

     SEC. 5. ACCURATE FUEL ECONOMY TESTING.

       (a) Biennial Report on Testing Quality.--
       (1) Requirement for report.--
       (A) In general.--Chapter 329 of title 49, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``Sec. 32920. Biennial report on testing quality

       ``(a) Requirement for Report.--Not later than October 1 of 
     each odd-numbered year, the Secretary of Transportation shall 
     submit to Congress a report on the quality of the testing for 
     determining automobile fuel economy under this chapter for 
     all currently available technologies for automobiles.
       ``(b) Content of Report.--The report shall include the 
     following information:
       ``(1) An assessment of the accuracy of the fuel economy 
     determined for automobiles in relation to actual highway and 
     road vehicle fuel economy.
       ``(2) A discussion of changes in testing methodology that 
     are planned to be made, together with an assessment of the 
     effects that such changes are expected to have on the 
     accuracy of the measures of automobile fuel economy resulting 
     from the use of the testing methodology as changed.
       ``(c) Consultation Requirement.--The Secretary of 
     Transportation and the Administrator of the Environmental 
     Protection Agency shall consult on the preparation of the 
     biennial report under this section.''.
       (B) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of chapter 329 of title 49, United States Code, is 
     amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``32920. Biennial report on testing quality''.
       (2) First report.--The first report under section 32920 of 
     title 49, United States Code, as added by paragraph (1), 
     shall be submitted to Congress in 2007.
       (b) Improvement of Process for Measuring Fuel Economy.--
       (1) Study.--
       (A) Requirement for study.--The Secretary of Transportation 
     shall provide for the John A. Volpe National Transportation 
     Systems Center to carry out a study--
       (i) to determine what practicable automobile fuel economy 
     testing process provides the most accurate measures of actual 
     automobile fuel economy in highway use, in urban use, and in 
     combined highway and in urban use; and
       (ii) to compare the average automobile fuel economy ratings 
     calculated under the testing process determined under clause 
     (i) for each category of automobile use described in that 
     clause with the corresponding automobile fuel economy ratings 
     calculated under the testing process in use under chapter 329 
     of title 49, United States Code, on the date of enactment of 
     this Act.
       (B) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress 
     a report on the results of the study under subparagraph (A), 
     which shall include--
       (i) the determination and comparisons made under 
     subparagraph (A); and
       (ii) an estimate of the average adjustment to automobile 
     fuel economy ratings calculated under the testing process 
     used for the purposes of chapter 329 of title 49, United 
     States Code, as of the date of enactment of this Act that is 
     needed to conform those ratings closely to the automobile 
     fuel economy ratings calculated under the testing process 
     determined most accurate under subparagraph (A)(i).
       (2) Testing procedure revision.--
       (A) Requirement for revised procedure.--Not later than 180 
     days after the date on which the report required under 
     paragraph (1)(B) is submitted to Congress, the Secretary of 
     Transportation shall prescribe, by regulation--
       (i) a revised testing procedure for accurately measuring 
     the actual automobile fuel economy of each model of 
     automobile; and
       (ii) a requirement that the revised testing procedure be 
     applied for the purposes of chapter 329 of title 49, United 
     States Code, to determine the average fuel economy of the 
     automobiles manufactured in model years after model year 
     2008.
       (B) Model for revised procedure.--The testing procedure 
     prescribed under subparagraph (A) shall be based on the 
     testing process identified in the report required under 
     paragraph (1)(B) as providing the most accurate measures of 
     actual automobile fuel economy.
       (3) Comparable adjustment in average fuel economy 
     standards.--
       (A) Requirement for adjustment.--For automobiles 
     manufactured in model years after model year 2008, the 
     Secretary of Transportation shall amend each average fuel 
     economy standard prescribed under section 32902 of title 49, 
     United States Code, to take into account improved accuracy in 
     the calculation of automobile fuel economy that results from 
     use of the revised testing procedure applied as required 
     under paragraph (2).
       (B) Condition.--The Secretary shall ensure that each 
     average fuel economy standard applied as amended under 
     subparagraph (A) is at least as stringent as the 
     corresponding average fuel economy standard that the 
     Secretary would have applied under section 32902 of title 49, 
     United States Code, if the fuel economy testing procedure had 
     not been revised as required under paragraph (2).

     SEC. 6. STANDARDS FOR EXECUTIVE AGENCY AUTOMOBILES.

       Section 32917 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in subsection (b)--
       (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
       ``(1) The President shall prescribe regulations that 
     require automobiles leased for at least 60 consecutive days 
     or bought by executive agencies in a fiscal year to achieve--
       ``(A) in the case of non-passenger automobiles, a fleet 
     average fuel economy for that year of at least the average 
     fuel economy standard applicable under section 32902(a) of 
     this title for the model year that includes January 1 of that 
     fiscal year; and

[[Page S9879]]

       ``(B) in the case of passenger automobiles, a fleet average 
     fuel economy for that year of at least the average fuel 
     economy standard applicable under subsection (b) or (c) of 
     section 32902 of this title for such model year.'';
       (B) in paragraph (2)--
       (i) by striking ``Fleet average fuel economy is--'' and 
     inserting ``For the purposes of paragraph (1), the fleet 
     average fuel economy of non-passenger or passenger 
     automobiles in a fiscal year is--'';
       (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``passenger 
     automobiles leased for at least 60 consecutive days or bought 
     by executive agencies in a'' and inserting ``the non-
     passenger automobiles or passenger automobiles, respectively, 
     that are leased for at least 60 consecutive days or bought by 
     executive agencies in such''; and
       (iii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``such'' after 
     ``the number of''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(c) Minimum Number of Exceptionally Fuel-Efficient 
     Vehicles.--The President shall prescribe regulations that 
     require that--
       ``(1) at least 20 percent of the passenger automobiles 
     leased for at least 60 consecutive days or bought by 
     executive agencies in a fiscal year have a vehicle fuel 
     economy rating that is at least 5 miles per gallon higher 
     than the average fuel economy standard applicable to the 
     automobile under subsection (b) or (c) of section 32902 of 
     this title for the model year that includes January 1 of that 
     fiscal year; and
       ``(2) beginning in fiscal year 2011, at least 10,000 
     vehicles in the fleet of automobiles used by executive 
     agencies in a fiscal year have a vehicle fuel economy that is 
     at least 5 miles per gallon higher than the average fuel 
     economy standards applicable to such automobiles under 
     section 32902 of this title for the model year that includes 
     January 1 of that fiscal year.''.

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