[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 10 (Thursday, January 18, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S756-S757]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. THUNE (for himself, Mr. Salazar, and Mr. Hagel):
  S. 331. A bill to provide grants from moneys collected from 
violations of the corporate average fuel economy program to be used to 
expand infrastructure necessary to increase the availability of 
alternative fuels; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I rise today along with my colleague from 
Colorado, Senator Salazar, regarding S. 331, the Alternative Energy 
Refueling Systems Act of 2007. The bill is a very straightforward 
measure that seeks to increase the number of alternative refueling 
stations across our country, something that I hope the full Senate will 
support later this year.
  Today, there are over 9 million alternative fuel automobiles on the 
road in America. However, while automakers have pledged to produce an 
increasing number of these vehicles, there is a serious shortfall in 
the number of gas stations to support these vehicles. For instance, 
while there are more than 6 million flex-fuel vehicles on the road 
today which can run on E-85 or gasoline, less than 1 percent of all gas 
stations in this country offer E-85 fuel. Clearly, more must be done to 
increase the availability of alternative fuels at the retail level.
  The Alternative Energy Refueling Systems Act would authorize the 
Department of Energy, through the existing Clean Cities Program, to 
provide grants to gas station owners who will install alternative 
refueling systems. These grants would greatly assist in expanding the 
availability of alternative fuels such as E-85, which is a mix of 15 
percent gasoline and 85 percent ethanol, or biodiesel, natural gas, 
compressed natural gas, hydrogen, or liquefied petroleum gas.
  Under this legislation, gas station owners who wish to install a new 
alternative fuel tank would be reimbursed for up to 30 percent of the 
cost, not exceeding $30,000, of expenses related to the purchase and 
installation of a new alternative refueling system. Keep in mind that 
subject to an annual appropriations, funding for these grants would 
come from a portion of the penalties that are collected annually from 
auto manufacturers who violate the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or 
CAFE standards, most of which are foreign automakers.
  I have to say the cost to install a pump like this generally runs 
somewhere from $30,000 to $40,000 to about $200,000, depending on where 
you are in the country. So obviously, it is a big investment for a lot 
of these filling station owners. But the fact is, they need to have an 
incentive and some assistance to make sure we are closing the gap that 
exists in this country between the production of renewable energy--a 
lot of ethanol production is going on in the country. In my State alone 
we have 11 plants currently operating, 5 more under construction, and 
we will be, by 2008, at 1 billion gallons annually of ethanol in South 
Dakota alone. So when you add to that the ethanol that is produced in 
other areas of the Midwest, we have a lot of production out there, and 
I think we have a big market growing. We have a renewable fuels 
standard that requires that we use 7.5 billion gallons annually by the 
year 2012, which, frankly, I think we will eclipse way before that 
time. Because at the current rate of production, we are going to blow 
by that in a very short time.
  But that being said, there is a requirement out there that a market 
develop for this. We have a lot of consumers around the country who 
would like to have access to renewable energy who believe for a lot of 
reasons, as I do, that it makes sense to lessen our dependence upon 
foreign sources of energy, to become more energy secure. It cleans up 
the environment and, obviously, in my part of the country, it is very 
good for American agriculture. But what we are missing in that 
distribution system is the retail level. We have the production, we 
have the demand, we have a renewable fuels standard, we have a market, 
but we don't have a way of joining those. Because of the costs 
associated with installing some of these pumps, a lot of filling 
station owners are reluctant to do so. What this would do is provide up 
to $30,000 or 30 percent of the cost not to exceed $30,000 toward that 
end. So we think this is a very commonsense approach to doing something 
that we really need to be doing in America today, and that is moving 
away from our dependence upon the oil industry for our energy.
  I wanted to tell my colleagues a little bit about who supports this 
piece of legislation. We have a number of businesses, agricultural and 
alternative energy groups, including General Motors, Ford Motors, 
Daimler Chrysler--all the big domestic automakers--Wal-Mart, the 
Petroleum Marketers Association of America, the National Ethanol 
Vehicle Coalition, the National Association of Fleet Administrators, 
the Renewable Fuels Association, the National Biodiesel Board, the 
National Corn Growers Association, the American Soybean Association, 
the American Coalition for Ethanol, and the National Association of 
Truck Stop Operators.
  So up and down the so-called food chain, from the production, the 
corn growers, the manufacturers of vehicles in this country, those who 
are involved at the retail level with getting fuel out there--filling 
stations, convenience stores--all the agricultural organizations, as I 
said, the ethanol industry, are all very much supportive of this 
particular piece of legislation.
  A measure very similar to this overwhelmingly passed in the House of 
Representatives by a vote of 355 to 9 back on July 4 of 2006. 
Unfortunately, the Senate was unable to consider our companion measure 
before adjourning last year.
  So Senator Salazar and I wholeheartedly believe this is a commonsense 
measure that will significantly increase the number of alternative 
refueling stations nationwide. As I said earlier, it accomplishes a lot 
of objectives that are important from a policy standpoint, a national 
security standpoint, energy security standpoint, and an environmental 
standpoint. This, to me, is a win-win, and I hope the Senate will act 
on it before this year is out. Hopefully, we will start to consider 
very seriously in the weeks and months ahead energy legislation and 
another farm bill, which I hope will have a very robust energy title 
included in it. It is high time we did something substantial to lessen 
or to close this gap we have and this problem that needs to be 
addressed in terms of our ability to continue to grow the renewable 
fuels industry in this country, home-grown energy, energy that we get 
on an annual basis.
  We raise a corn crop every year in South Dakota, as they do in Iowa, 
Minnesota, and Nebraska and in other States across this country which 
are all starting to realize the benefits of ethanol production and what 
it means to their agricultural economy. So this

[[Page S757]]

is a good piece of legislation that makes sense in so many ways. I hope 
the very clear logic of it will help us prevail in getting it passed in 
the Senate this year.
  This legislation is cosponsored by Senator Hagel of Nebraska and 
Senator Conrad of North Dakota. I again put this bill before the 
Senate, and I look forward to its consideration.
  Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, I join my colleague Senator Thune today 
in introducing S. 331, the Thune/Salazar Alternative Fuel Grant 
Program. I am proud that Senators Hagel and Conrad are also joining us 
in this effort.
  This morning I spoke about the dire threat that our dependence on 
foreign oil poses to our energy security and our national security. We 
are simply too vulnerable to oil shocks, supply disruptions, and the 
whims of oil-rich and democracy-poor countries.
  It is time to build a new, clean energy economy that runs on 
biofuels, wind, solar, and alternative energies. This clean energy 
economy will move us out of the shadows of our oil dependence. Our 
farmers, ranchers, engineers, and entrepreneurs should play a lead role 
in this clean energy revolution, and Congress should do more to help 
them.
  The bill that Senator Thune and I are introducing today, S. 331, is a 
straightforward bill that will help expand the availability of 
alternative fuels at our Nation's filling stations.
  It aims to solve a key problem that is slowing the growth of 
alternative fuels in the transportation sector. Although our farmers 
and ranchers are producing more and more biofuels each year, and our 
car manufacturers are building more and more vehicles that run on E-85, 
consumers still have a difficult time finding anything but gasoline at 
their filling station.
  Our alternative fuel infrastructure is woefully behind the times. At 
last count, only a few hundred filling stations around the country 
carried E-85 fuel, while more than 6 million flexible fuel vehicles are 
on the road.
  Consumers should have the choice of whether to fill their car with 
biofuels or with gasoline. Unfortunately, most of them do not.
  The bill we are introducing is simple. It would provide grants to 
eligible gas station owners, farmers, and businesses that install pumps 
to deliver alternative fuels, such as natural gas or E-85.
  The bill uses funds collected through CAFE penalties--approximately 
$20 million--for grants of up to $30,000. The funding would still be 
subject to annual appropriations and is budget neutral.
  This bill will dramatically improve the availability of alternative 
fuels to consumers. It will allow those with E-85 vehicles to finally 
use the fuel they dream of using. It will also put in place the 
infrastructure we need for cellulosic ethanol, which is expected to 
come to market in just a few years.
  I urge my colleagues to take a serious look at this bill--it is 
common sense, straightforward, fills a clear need, and is fiscally 
responsible.
  I again thank my colleague from South Dakota for his leadership on 
this matter.
                                 ______