[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 126 (Monday, July 28, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7577-S7578]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           TEXT OF AMENDMENTS

  SA 5249. Mr. BROWNBACK submitted an amendment intended to be proposed 
by him to the bill S. 3268, to amend the Commodity Exchange Act, to 
prevent excessive price speculation with respect to energy commodities, 
and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as 
follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. __. OPEN FUEL STANDARDS.

       (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Open 
     Fuel Standard Act of 2008'' or the ``OFS Act''.
       (b) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) The status of oil as a strategic commodity, which 
     derives from its domination of the transportation sector, 
     presents a clear and present danger to the United States.
       (2) in a prior era, when salt was a strategic commodity, 
     salt mines conferred national power and wars were fought over 
     the control of such mines;
       (3) technology, in the form of electricity and 
     refrigeration, decisively ended salt's monopoly of meat 
     preservation and greatly reduced its strategic importance;
       (4) fuel competition and consumer choice would similarly 
     serve to end oil's monopoly in the transportation sector and 
     strip oil of its strategic status;
       (5) the current closed fuel market has allowed a cartel of 
     petroleum exporting countries to inflate fuel prices, 
     effectively imposing a harmful tax on the economy of the 
     United States of nearly $500,000,000,000 per year;
       (6) much of the inflated petroleum revenues the oil cartel 
     earns at the expense of the people of the United States are 
     used for purposes antithetical to the interests of the United 
     States and its allies;
       (7) alcohol fuels, including ethanol and methanol, could 
     potentially provide significant supplies of additional fuels 
     that could be produced in the United States and in many other 
     countries in the Western Hemisphere that are friendly to the 
     United States;
       (8) alcohol fuels can only play a major role in securing 
     the energy independence of the United States if a substantial 
     portion of vehicles in the United States are capable of 
     operating on such fuels;
       (9) it is not in the best interest of United States 
     consumers or the United States Government to be constrained 
     to depend solely upon petroleum resources for vehicle fuels 
     if alcohol fuels are potentially available;
       (10) existing technology, in the form of flexible fuel 
     vehicles, allows internal combustion engine cars and trucks 
     to be produced at little or no additional cost, which are 
     capable of operating on conventional gasoline, alcohol fuels, 
     or any combination of such fuels, as availability or cost 
     advantage dictates, providing a platform on which fuels can 
     compete;
       (11) the necessary distribution system for such alcohol 
     fuels will not be developed in the United States until a 
     substantial fraction of the vehicles in the United States are 
     capable of operating on such fuels;
       (12) the establishment of such a vehicle fleet and 
     distribution system would provide a large market that would 
     mobilize private resources to substantially advance the 
     technology and expand the production of alcohol fuels in the 
     United States and abroad;
       (13) the United States has an urgent national security 
     interest to develop alcohol fuels technology, production, and 
     distribution systems as rapidly as possible;
       (14) new cars sold in the United States that are equipped 
     with an internal combustion engine should allow for fuel 
     competition by being flexible fuel vehicles, and new diesel 
     cars should be capable of operating on biodiesel; and
       (15) such an open fuel standard would help to protect the 
     United States economy from high and volatile oil prices and 
     from the threats caused by global instability, terrorism, and 
     natural disaster.
       (c) Open Fuel Standard for Transportation.--Chapter 329 of 
     title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 
     the following:

     ``SEC. 32920. OPEN FUEL STANDARD FOR TRANSPORTATION.

       ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) E85.--The term `E85' means a fuel mixture containing 
     85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline by volume.
       ``(2) Flexible fuel automobile.--The term `flexible fuel 
     automobile' means an automobile that has been warranted by 
     its manufacturer to operate on gasoline, E85, and M85.
       ``(3) Fuel choice-enabling automobile.--The term `fuel 
     choice-enabling automobile' means--
       ``(A) a flexible fuel automobile; or
       ``(B) an automobile that has been warranted by its 
     manufacturer to operate on biodiesel.
       ``(4) Light-duty automobile.--The term `light-duty 
     automobile' means--
       ``(A) a passenger automobile; or
       ``(B) a non-passenger automobile.
       ``(5) Light-duty automobile manufacturer's annual 
     inventory.--The term `light-duty automobile manufacturer's 
     annual inventory' means the number of light-duty automobiles 
     that a manufacturer, during a given calendar year, 
     manufactures in the United States or imports from outside of 
     the United States for sale in the United States.
       ``(6) M85.--The term `M85' means a fuel mixture containing 
     85 percent methanol and 15 percent gasoline by volume.
       ``(b) Open Fuel Standard for Transportation.--
       ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
     each light-duty automobile manufacturer's annual inventory 
     shall be comprised of not less than 50 percent fuel choice-
     enabling automobiles in 2012.
       ``(2) Temporary exemption from requirements.--
       ``(A) Application.--A manufacturer may request an exemption 
     from the requirement described in paragraph (1) by submitting 
     an application to the Secretary, at such time, in such 
     manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may 
     require by regulation. Each such application shall specify 
     the models, lines, and types of automobiles affected.
       ``(B) Evaluation.--After evaluating an application received 
     from a manufacturer, the Secretary may at any time, under 
     such terms and conditions, and to such extent as the 
     Secretary considers appropriate, temporarily exempt, or renew 
     the exemption of, a light-duty automobile from the 
     requirement described in paragraph (1) if the Secretary 
     determines that unavoidable events not under the control of 
     the manufacturer prevent the manufacturer of such automobile 
     from meeting its required production volume of fuel choice-
     enabling automobiles due to a disruption in--
       ``(i) the supply of any component required for compliance 
     with the regulations; or
       ``(ii) the use and installation by the manufacturer of such 
     component.
       ``(C) Consolidation.--The Secretary may consolidate 
     applications received from multiple manufactures under 
     subparagraph (A) if they are of a similar nature.
       ``(D) Conditions.--Any exemption granted under subparagraph 
     (B) shall be conditioned upon the manufacturer's commitment 
     to recall the exempted automobiles for installation of the 
     omitted components within a reasonable time proposed by the 
     manufacturer and approved by the Secretary after such 
     components become available in sufficient quantities to 
     satisfy both anticipated production and recall volume 
     requirements.
       ``(E) Notice.--The Secretary shall publish in the Federal 
     Register--
       ``(i) notice of each application received from a 
     manufacturer;
       ``(ii) notice of each decision to grant or deny a temporary 
     exemption; and
       ``(iii) the reasons for granting or denying such 
     exemptions.
       ``(F) Labeling.--Each manufacturer that receives an 
     exemption under this paragraph shall place a label on each 
     exempted automobile. Such label--
       ``(i) shall comply with the regulations prescribed by the 
     Secretary under paragraph (3); and

[[Page S7578]]

       ``(ii) may only be removed after recall and installation of 
     the required components.
       ``(G) Notice of exemption.--Each light-duty automobile 
     delivered to dealers and first purchasers that is not a fuel 
     choice-enabling automobile and for which the manufacturer 
     received an exemption under this paragraph, shall be 
     accompanied with a written notification of such exemption, 
     which complies with the regulations prescribed by the 
     Secretary under paragraph (3).
       ``(3) Rulemaking.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall 
     promulgate regulations to carry out this section.''.

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