[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 16, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S596-S598]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself and Mr. Stevens):
  S. 298. A bill to provide incentives for renewable energy production, 
to increase fuel economy standards for automobiles, and to provide tax 
incentives for renewable energy production; to the Committee on 
Finance.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a significant 
bill to improve energy efficiency in this Nation and reduce greenhouse 
gas emissions.
  The bill I am introducing will promote the development of additional 
forms of renewable energy and also pave the way for improved fuel 
consumption by vehicles. I rise to introduce the Renewable Energy, Fuel 
Reduction, and Economic Stabilization and Enhancement Act of 2007, or 
the REFRESH Act, for short.
  I consider this a balanced measure, a companion to a bill introduced 
recently by Alaska's Senior Senator Ted Stevens who proposed to raise 
the fuel efficiency of automobiles to 40 miles per gallon within a 
decade, a bill I am proud to be a cosponsor of. This bill will promote 
alternative energy by providing grants and tax credits to promote 
development of geothermal power, all forms of ocean energy and small 
hydro electric development.
  The bill also seeks to reduce American fossil fuel consumption by 
nearly 5 million barrels of oil a day by 2025 by not only supporting an 
increase in the Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency Standard, CAFE, for 
automobiles, as

[[Page S597]]

proposed by Senator Stevens, but by also requiring a study of whether 
to mandate that a CAFE standard to be imposed on commercial trucks. The 
bill also requires an improvement in the efficiency of replacement 
tires for all passenger cars, provides grants to States and local 
communities to encourage a reduction in traffic congestion by helping 
States to set up telecommuting and flexible-work programs to keep 
motorists off roadways during rush hours, and extends and removes a cap 
on tax credits to encourage the purchase of hybrid and advanced fuel 
efficient lean-burn vehicles. The bill also authorizes $100 million in 
additional research assistance for plug-in hybrid and battery storage 
technology development.
  The bill also includes a truth in advertising provision requiring 
that the CAFE standards for vehicles be based on the actual fuel 
economy that the vehicles will achieve under real-world driving 
conditions, where acceleration, the use of air conditioning and stop 
and go driving is considered rather than on a three-decades old testing 
formula.
  The bill will reduce carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel usage 
by about 530 million metric tons in the United States by 2025--a 7 
percent cut over what emissions otherwise are predicted to be that 
year. Coming from Alaska where there is no question but that warming 
temperatures have been in place in recent years, it only makes sense 
that we take common sense steps now to improve fuel efficiency, to 
promote the development of a wider range of alternative energy 
technologies and to encourage Americans to buy more fuel efficient 
vehicles, as long as their ability to drive safe and affordable 
vehicles of their own choosing is protected.
  This bill is a careful balance of steps we can take to reduce fuel 
usage and thus greenhouse gas emissions, but also of provisions that 
are economic for Americans to undertake, and will pay for themselves in 
reduced fuel costs, sometimes in very short order. It will be good 
insurance for the environment, but also good for the pocketbooks of 
Americans.
  Americans understand that we are in a current warming trend. Just 
this week, our government reported that 2006 was the warmest year 
worldwide in over a century. There are dozens of examples of the 
effects on the environment that the warming climate of the past three 
decades has caused. While I believe the ultimate cause of the climate 
change we are seeing is not yet certain, it is our responsibility to 
take affordable steps now to reduce fuel consumption, increase the use 
of alternative, non-fossil-fuel technologies, and to reduce carbon 
dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.
  This bill, paired with previous legislation by my colleague Senator 
Ted Stevens that specifically raises the CAFE standard by 2017, S. 183, 
will require automobile makers, if it is technologically feasible, to 
improve fuel efficiency. I am proud to be a supporter of that measure. 
The two bills will have a host of policy and economic advantages. They 
will make us less dependent on imported oil, improving our national 
security and reducing the money we spend overseas to buy imported crude 
oil. And they will produce more jobs in America through the development 
of new alternative-fuel industries.
  The bill I introduce today, for example, will require all tire 
manufacturers to make and sell only low, rolling, resistance tires for 
replacement tire purposes within five years--the same tires found on 
new cars today. The tires, while they will add on average $20 to the 
cost of a set of two replacement tires, will improve fuel efficiency by 
1.5 to 4.5 percent. Thus if the price of gasoline is only $2 a gallon, 
drivers will save from $87 to $260 a year in fuel costs per year, the 
change saving the typical driver money within the first year, according 
to estimates by the National Commission on Energy Policy that 
recommended the change in a 2005 report.
  The bill also will require the National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration (NHTSA) to study the savings that would result and the 
costs of imposing a CAFE standard on commercial trucks, a key 
requirement before Congress can actually impose such a standard. 
Commercial trucks consume between 1.5 and 2 million barrels of oil a 
day in fuel. According to estimates by the Department of Energy's 21st 
Century Truck Program and by Argonne National Laboratory, fuel economy 
for tractor-trailers should be able to improve by 30 to 60 percent by 
2015 through use of a CAFE standard. While such improvements might 
increase the cost of a tractor-trailer by $7,000 at time of purchase, 
it would save some $11,000 in fuel costs over the life of the vehicle, 
achieving payback for the typical truck owner in less than three years. 
Imposing such a CAFE on trucks was proposed by the Energy Security 
Leadership Council in a report just last month.
  The $50 million in grants to reduce traffic congestion could pay for 
themselves nearly immediately, since the National Commission on Energy 
Policy estimated that American motorists consume between 65,000 and 
260,000 barrels of oil a day in wasted fuel because of urban traffic 
congestion, costing the Nation up to $13 million a day at current fuel 
prices.
  And the tax credit provisions, making all forms of ocean energy: 
wave, current, tidal and thermal, and small hydro electric power 
qualified to receive the Federal Production Tax Credit that currently 
reduces the cost of wind, solar and biomass energy by 1.9 cents per 
kilowatt hour generated, would help to increase renewable energy 
production nationwide. Geothermal energy is already covered by the PTC, 
as are wind, solar and biomass projects.
  Congress two years ago in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which I 
helped formulate, provided both grant and the tax assistance to 
encourage the development of wind, solar and biomass energy. But when 
you consider that large portions of the country, including 70 percent 
of Alaska, may contain geothermal resources, that there are thousands 
of lakes and small rivers and creeks that can power small-scale hydro 
electric development without requiring dams or affecting fisheries or 
the environment in the least, and that thousands of miles of U.S. 
coastlines and river systems can generate electricity from emerging 
ocean energy systems, it only makes sense to expand the scope of 
Federal assistance to encourage wider development and use of these 
other renewable technologies.
  The Electric Power Research Institute has estimated that wave energy 
off U.S. coasts alone could conservatively generate 252 million 
megawatt hours of electricity, 6.5 percent of all energy now produced 
in America. Alaska has nearly 80 coastal and river communities that 
could benefit greatly by development of ocean energy systems. To 
facilitate ocean and geothermal development, the bill authorizes $100 
million in Federal research and development grant assistance to both 
types of development.
  This bill is not a cure all for all of our energy woes. I recently 
co-sponsored legislation by Senators Jim Bunning and Barack Obama that 
will provide additional incentives to develop fuel from coal and that 
will encourage the sequestration of carbon from coal processed in fuel-
to-liquid plants. I will support additional assistance to promote wind, 
solar and biomass alternative energy development. I have supported and 
will continue to support development of the next generation of nuclear 
power that can produce energy without any greenhouse gas emissions. And 
I will continue to support research and development of biofuels, such 
as ethanol, especially celluosic ethanol, and of development of 
hydrogen-fueled vehicles and fuel distribution systems for the new 
fuels.
  I also will support production of more domestic energy from 
conventional sources, whether it be more oil and natural gas from the 
ground onshore and from under some of our seas offshore where it can be 
done in an environmentally friendly way, or more novel forms of fossil 
fuels, be they from oil shales, oil sands, coal or from gas hydrate 
deposits. In my view we need to do everything we can to find economic 
forms of the energy we will need during the remainder of the 21st 
Century.
  This bill only represents one piece of a balanced plan to improve 
this Nation's energy outlook. But it is an important piece. This bill 
has the ability to restore and refresh our environment

[[Page S598]]

by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It will encourage development of 
more renewable energy. We can't afford not to find the funds to pay for 
its provisions.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                 S. 298

       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 ``Renewable Energy, Fuel 
     Reduction, and Economic Stabilization and EnHancement Act of 
     2007'' or the ``REFRESH Act''.

                  TITLE I--RENEWABLE ENERGY INCENTIVES

     SEC. 101. GEOTHERMAL POWER.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of Energy, acting through 
     the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy 
     (referred to in this title as the ``Secretary''), shall make 
     grants to eligible entities (as determined by the Secretary) 
     to promote geothermal power development, including high- and 
     low-temperature geothermal power development.
       (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section $100,000,000.

     SEC. 102. OCEAN ENERGY.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary shall make grants to 
     eligible entities (as determined by the Secretary) to develop 
     all forms of ocean energy (including wave, current, tidal, 
     and thermal energy).
       (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section $100,000,000.

     SEC. 103. PLUG-IN HYBRID ELECTRIC-COMBUSTION ENGINE VEHICLES.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary shall make grants to 
     eligible entities (as determined by the Secretary) to assist 
     in the development of new technology (including storage 
     batteries or other forms of technology) to assist automobile 
     manufactures in the production of plug-in hybrid electric-
     combustion engine vehicles.
       (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section $100,000,000.

                  TITLE II--FUEL EFFICIENCY STANDARDS

     SEC. 201. TRUTH IN TESTING OF CAFE STANDARDS.

       (a) Testing and Calculation Procedures.--
       (1) In general.--Section 32904(c) of title 49, United 
     States Code, is amended by striking ``However, except under 
     section 32908 of this title, the Administrator shall use the 
     same procedures for passenger automobiles the Administrator 
     used for model year 1975 (weighted 55 percent urban cycle and 
     45 percent highway cycle),'' and insert ``In measuring fuel 
     economy under this subsection, the Administrator shall use 
     the procedures described in the final rule relating to fuel 
     economy labeling published in the Federal Register on 
     December 27, 2006 (71 Fed. Reg. 77,872; to be codified at 40 
     C.F.R. parts 86 and 600)''.
       (2) Effective date.--Paragraph (1) shall take effect on the 
     date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this 
     Act and shall apply to passenger automobiles manufactured 
     after such date.
       (b) Study and Report.--
       (1) Study.--The Administrator of the National Highway 
     Traffic Safety Administration shall conduct a study of the 
     anticipated economic impacts and fuel saving benefits that 
     would result from a requirement that all vehicles 
     manufactured for sale in the United States with a gross 
     vehicle weight of not less than 10,000 pounds meet specific 
     average fuel economy standards.
       (2) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit a 
     report to Congress that includes--
       (A) the results of the study conducted under paragraph (1); 
     and
       (B) a recommendation on whether the vehicles described in 
     paragraph (1) should be subject to average fuel economy 
     standards.

     SEC. 202. TIRE RESISTANCE STANDARDS.

       Section 30123 of title 49, United States Code, is amended 
     by adding at the end the following:
       ``(d) Low Rolling Resistance Tires.--Not later than 5 years 
     after the date of the enactment of this subsection, all 
     passenger automobile tires sold in the United States shall 
     meet the low rolling resistance standards prescribed by the 
     Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety 
     Administration.''.

     SEC. 203. TRAFFIC REDUCTION GRANTS.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of Transportation may award 
     grants to States to develop telecommuting and flexible work 
     scheduling incentives that will reduce traffic congestion in 
     urban areas.
       (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 to carry 
     out the grant program established under this section. Any 
     sums appropriated pursuant to this subsection shall remain 
     available until expended.

                         TITLE III--TAX CREDITS

     SEC. 301. EXPANSION OF CREDIT FOR PRODUCTION OF ENERGY FROM 
                   CERTAIN RENEWABLE RESOURCES.

       (a) Expansion of Resources to Wave, Current, Tidal, and 
     Ocean Thermal Energy.--
       (1) In general.--Section 45(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue 
     Code of 1986 (defining qualified energy resources) is amended 
     by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (G), by 
     striking the period at the end of subparagraph (H) and 
     inserting ``, and'', and by adding at the end the following 
     new subparagraph:
       ``(I) wave, current, tidal, and ocean thermal energy.''
       (2) Definition of resources.--Section 45(c) of the Internal 
     Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new paragraph:
       ``(10) Wave, current, tidal, and ocean thermal energy.--The 
     term `wave, current, tidal, and ocean thermal energy' means 
     electricity produced from any of the following:
       ``(A) Free flowing ocean water derived from tidal currents, 
     ocean currents, waves, or estuary currents.
       ``(B) Ocean thermal energy.
       ``(C) Free flowing water in rivers, lakes, man made 
     channels, or streams.''
       (3) Facilities.--Section 45(d) of the Internal Revenue Code 
     of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     paragraph:
       ``(11) Wave, current, tidal, and ocean thermal facility.--
     In the case of a facility using resources described in clause 
     (i), (ii), or (iii) of subsection (c)(10)(A) to produce 
     electricity, the term `qualified facility' means any facility 
     owned by the taxpayer which is originally placed in service 
     after the date of the enactment of this paragraph and before 
     January 1, 2009, but such term shall not include a facility 
     which includes impoundment structures or a small irrigation 
     power facility.''
       (b) Expansion of Small Irrigation Power.--Paragraph (5) of 
     section 45(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended 
     to read as follows:
       ``(5) Small irrigation power.--The term `small irrigation 
     power' means power--
       ``(A) generated without any dam or impoundment of water 
     through--
       ``(i) through an irrigation system canal or ditch, or
       ``(ii) utilizing lake taps, perched alpine lakes, or run-
     of-river with diversion, and
       ``(B) the nameplate capacity rating of which is less than 
     15 megawatts.''.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to electricity produced in taxable years ending 
     after the date of the enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 302. EXTENSION AND MODIFICATION OF NEW QUALIFIED HYBRID 
                   MOTOR VEHICLE CREDIT FOR PLUG-IN HYBRIDS.

       (a) Extension.--
       (1) New qualified hybrid passenger automobiles and light 
     trucks.--Paragraph (2) of section 30B(j) of the Internal 
     Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting ``(December 31, 
     2012, in the case of a new qualified hybrid motor vehicle 
     which is recharged by means of an off board device)'' after 
     ``December 31, 2010''.
       (2) Other qualified hybrid motor vehicles.--Paragraph (3) 
     of section 30B(j) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
     amended by inserting ``(December 31, 2012, in the case of a 
     new qualified hybrid motor vehicle which is recharged by 
     means of an off board device)'' after ``December 31, 2009''.
       (b) Elimination of Limitation on Number of New Qualified 
     Hybrid and Advanced Lean Burn Technology Vehicles Eligible 
     for Full Alternative Motor Vehicle Tax Credit.--
       (1) In general.--Section 30B of the Internal Revenue Code 
     of 1986 is amended--
       (A) by striking subsection (f); and
       (B) by redesignating subsections (g) through (j), as 
     amended by subsection (a), as subsections (f) through (i), 
     respectively.
       (2) Conforming amendments.--
       (A) Paragraphs (4) and (6) of section 30B(g) of such Code, 
     as redesignated by paragraph (1)(B), are each amended by 
     striking ``(determined without regard to subsection (g))'' 
     and inserting ``(determined without regard to subsection 
     (f))''.
       (B) Section 38(b)(25) of such Code is amended by striking 
     ``section 30B(g)(1)'' and inserting ``section 30B(f)(1)''.
       (C) Section 55(c)(2) of such Code is amended by striking 
     ``section 30B(g)(2)'' and inserting ``section 30B(f)(2)''.
       (D) Section 1016(a)(36) of such Code is amended by striking 
     ``section 30B(h)(4)'' and inserting ``section 30B(g)(4)''.
       (E) Section 6501(m) of such Code is amended by striking 
     ``section 30B(h)(9)'' and inserting ``section 30B(g)(9)''.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to property placed in service after December 31, 
     2005, in taxable years ending after such date.
                                 ______