[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 131 (Wednesday, September 16, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H9566-H9568]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 3246, ADVANCED VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY 
                              ACT OF 2009

  Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I 
call up House Resolution 745 and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 745

       Resolved, That at any time after the adoption of this 
     resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule 
     XVIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the 
     Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of 
     the bill (H.R. 3246) to provide for a program of research, 
     development, demonstration, and commercial application in 
     vehicle technologies at the Department of Energy. The first 
     reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. All points of 
     order against consideration of the bill are waived except 
     those arising under clause 9 or 10 of rule XXI. General 
     debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one 
     hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking 
     minority member of the Committee on Science and Technology. 
     After general debate the bill shall be considered for 
     amendment under the five-minute rule. It shall be in order to 
     consider as an original bill for the purpose of amendment 
     under the five-minute rule the amendment in the nature of a 
     substitute recommended by the Committee on Science and 
     Technology now printed in the bill. The committee amendment 
     in the nature of a substitute shall be considered as read. 
     All points of order against the committee amendment in the 
     nature of a substitute are waived except those arising under 
     clause 10 of rule XXI. Notwithstanding clause 11 of rule 
     XVIII, no amendment to the committee amendment in the nature 
     of a substitute shall be in order except those printed in the 
     report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this 
     resolution. Each such amendment may be offered only in the 
     order printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member 
     designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall 
     be debatable for the time specified in the report equally 
     divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, 
     shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject 
     to a demand for division of the question in the House or in 
     the Committee of the Whole. All points of order against such 
     amendments are waived except those arising under clause 9 or 
     10 of rule XXI. At the conclusion of consideration of the 
     bill for amendment the Committee shall rise and report the 
     bill to the House with such amendments as may have

[[Page H9567]]

     been adopted. The previous question shall be considered as 
     ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage 
     without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with 
     or without instructions.
       Sec. 2.  The Chair may entertain a motion that the 
     Committee rise only if offered by the chair of the Committee 
     on Science and Technology or his designee. The Chair may not 
     entertain a motion to strike out the enacting words of the 
     bill (as described in clause 9 of rule XVIII).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Colorado is recognized 
for 1 hour.
  Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, for the purposes of debate only, I yield 
the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Lincoln 
Diaz-Balart). All time yielded during consideration of the rule is for 
debate only.


                             General Leave

  Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and to insert extraneous material into the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Colorado?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, House Resolution 745 provides for a structured rule 
for consideration of H.R. 3246, the Advanced Vehicle Technology Act of 
2009. This rule makes in order all three of the Republican amendments 
submitted to the Rules Committee for consideration as part of this 
bipartisan bill.
  The Advanced Vehicle Technology Act of 2009 is an important part of 
this Congress' commitment to clean energy, job creation, and reducing 
our country's dependence on foreign oil. It recognizes what many of us 
know to be true: We need a significant boost in research and 
development of innovative vehicle technologies in order to become 
energy independent, to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that 
threaten our planet, and to ensure that the American automobile 
industry remains viable. To that end, H.R. 3246 authorizes $2.85 
billion over the next 5 years to strengthen and support advanced 
vehicle technology research at the Department of Energy.
  While through other measures we have laid a foundation to increase 
the accessibility of public transportation--another critical component 
of reducing our emissions of global warming gases--and even in this 
bill we will invest in increasing the energy efficiency and reducing 
the costs of producing and operating these public transportation 
vehicles, in many parts of this country it is still necessary that the 
primary mode of transit is the automobile.
  The expanse of rural America and suburban and exurban America simply 
require personal vehicles for work and for pleasure. The good news is 
that in this bill we will be able to capitalize on a movement that 
already exists. One need only look to the biodiesel co-ops of Iowa, 
where folks can buy clean, domestically produced fuel at costs 
frequently lower than the petroleum option, or companies such as Rocky 
Mountain Sustainable Enterprises founded and based in Boulder, 
Colorado, in my district. This company recycles waste vegetable oil, 
oil that would otherwise find its way to a landfill but instead has 
been used to power agricultural equipment and vehicles.
  I am proud to say that this company will be opening a new facility in 
Fort Morgan, Colorado, in the district of my colleague and good friend, 
Representative Betsy Markey. This facility will enable this firm to 
produce enough fuel to continue providing to their agricultural clients 
while expanding to mass transit and passenger vehicle biodiesel.
  All across the country, the biofuels industry is gearing up to 
provide the clean domestic fuel of America's future while providing 
good-paying jobs today. We need to help these companies grow, and we 
can do this by ensuring that vehicles made right here in America are 
prepared to use our domestically produced fuel.
  America has had a long love affair with the automobile, and vehicles 
are continually becoming more efficient, more comfortable, easier to 
own and easier to maintain. This, by right, should continue. Through 
this legislation, we will make the investments required to ensure that 
the great tradition of the family summer road trip is available to 
future generations.
  Madam Speaker, our domestic auto industry has had its difficulties 
these last few years. And I speak not only of the Big Three Detroit 
automakers, so iconic of the industry that grabbed many of the 
headlines, but also of the many companies, such as Delphi and many 
others, that create components for vehicles and employ hundreds of 
thousands of Americans. It is these smaller companies that have 
produced significant innovation. However, due to the economic crisis, 
rising operational costs, including health care for their employees, 
many of these companies have had to slow or shutter their research and 
development operations in order to afford to stay in business and keep 
their assembly lines running.
  In order to navigate out of this recession back to manufacturing 
leadership, we need to have a compass of innovation. This bill before 
us today ensures that the best technologies, from electric drivetrains 
to clean diesel, are made available, and that vehicles driven in the 
United States are the cleanest and most efficient in the world.
  We can further the technologies that are sponsored through this 
competitive process that will ensure that our dependence on foreign oil 
will be decreased and will increase demand for domestically produced 
renewable energy, creating jobs.
  This bill is as good for the air and urban America as it is for the 
economy of rural America.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Madam Speaker, I would like to 
thank my friend, the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Polis), for the time, 
and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  The transportation sector of our economy accounts for a considerable 
portion of U.S. energy use and oil consumption. Our economy is 
extremely dependent on foreign sources of oil. We are subject to the 
extreme volatility of the gasoline market, not to mention the whims of 
dictators like Ahmadinejad and Chavez. That is why last year Members on 
this side of the aisle pushed for greater energy independence by 
advocating for new domestic energy sources as well as investments in 
the clean technologies of the future. Unfortunately, our efforts were 
ignored or shut down by the majority.
  Although the majority decided to ignore and shut down our efforts to 
promote domestic energy sources, I believe we have to continue to work 
on this important issue. Congress must continue to make investments in 
alternative energy and promote its development and implementation. We 
need to have a diverse energy portfolio to sustain our economic growth. 
We must encourage the development of vehicles that run on electric, 
natural gas, and other alternative fuels.
  We can move away from our dependence on foreign oil as a primary 
source of energy. Doing this is in our national interest, in terms of 
security, as well as our environmental interests.
  For over two decades, the Department of Energy has funded various 
clean energy research activities on passenger vehicles and heavy duty 
trucks. While those programs have produced mixed results, I believe 
that Federal vehicle technology research and development programs will 
only be effective through robust partnerships with a wide variety of 
vehicle technology developers and manufacturers.
  Madam Speaker, I have met with various experts in the energy field to 
discuss the development of sustainable transportation in the United 
States. In my conversations with those experts, including this last 
weekend with Michael Granoff with Better Place, I was educated 
regarding the efforts by our friends, the Israelis, to completely 
replace oil as an energy source in their economy.

                              {time}  1200

  Israel's efforts to replace oil are serious and extraordinary. We 
have to listen to experts like Mr. Granoff. We have to implement 
policies immediately that will lead to the development of electric 
automobiles. Massively throughout our economy, it needs to be done and 
it needs to be done now.
  Unfortunately, Communist China is well advanced in the practical 
application and development of electric automobile technology. We are 
about to be

[[Page H9568]]

overtaken by a dangerous competitor in a major technology of the 
future, which may very well decide if we are able to remain an economic 
superpower. This is not something that we can take lightly. It's 
serious, and it deserves our urgent attention.
  The underlying legislation being brought to the floor today, H.R. 
3246, the Advanced Vehicle Technology Act, takes a small step in the 
right direction. It reiterates the importance of the Federal 
Government's role in funding and in coordinating research activities 
and in disseminating research findings in order to bring clean 
technology to passenger vehicles and to heavy trucks to reduce our 
Nation's dependence on petroleum, thus reducing emissions.
  The legislation authorizes approximately $3 billion over the next 5 
years for the Department of Energy to create a research program to help 
develop technologies that will substantially reduce or eliminate 
petroleum use in the Nation's vehicles. As part of this new program, 
the Department of Energy is required to collaborate with numerous 
sectors of the automotive industry.
  Now, during yesterday's hearing in the Rules Committee, we heard 
testimony from both sides of the aisle on the underlying legislation. 
It was clear from the testimony that this legislation has great 
bipartisan support. Yet the majority in the Rules Committee felt it was 
necessary to offer a restrictive rule. I really don't know why. I know 
that the rule allows both of the minority amendments that were 
submitted to the Rules Committee; but, unfortunately, it forbids the 
consideration of three amendments submitted by Members of the majority 
party. I believe we should have allowed those amendments. We should 
have considered, in effect, this legislation under an open rule, a rule 
that allows for a truly free and full debate. The majority blocked our 
attempts to have such an open debate.
  Really, I think it's a shame that the majority has, once again, 
blocked an open debate. Since this majority took over, Madam Speaker, 
in 2007, they have had one open rule on a nonappropriations bill. 
Unfortunately, it is standard operating procedure for this majority to 
block open debate on the House floor.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, again, this rule that we are proposing 
allows all three Republican amendments that were proposed to be made in 
order. I certainly appreciate the concern from the gentleman from 
Florida with regard to our Democratic amendments and the fact that we 
should have had more in the bill. We do have several that have been 
allowed as well.
  I would like to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Klein).
  Mr. KLEIN of Florida. I thank the gentleman from Colorado.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this rule and the 
underlying bill, the Advanced Vehicle Technology Act of 2009.
  This legislation, which is supported by a bipartisan majority of this 
body and on behalf of the American people, makes an excellent and a 
smart investment in research that will catapult American ingenuity into 
new levels of competitiveness.
  Now, for years, I know many people have said, Why haven't our car 
companies kept up? There were a lot of decisions along the way and a 
lot of reasons; but I think what we're doing today is taking a very, 
very important step for which many of us have been advocating for many, 
many years. I know a lot of people have said, Well, the technology must 
be there. It's just not being utilized. Maybe that's the case and maybe 
that isn't the case, but what's happening right now is something that 
many of us have been advocating for.
  On December 5, 2008, in the Financial Services Committee where 
American automakers testified before Congress on their dire financial 
state, I, personally, had the opportunity to ask the automakers about 
whether they would support a process by which we could bring the best 
of technology, of the engineers and of the entrepreneurs together to 
really leapfrog. I mean, I'm a firm believer that American ingenuity is 
at the top. It's one of the strengths we have in our country. 
Fortunately, those car leaders at that time said yes.
  Well, this bill takes that moment, that effort, and the financial 
resources and does what the gentleman from Florida said: it allows us 
to have a stake and a participation in advancing research. Whether 
through medical science or the automobile business, I think this is a 
role that we can play.
  The New Democrat Coalition, in which I participate, followed up with 
a letter to the administration, stressing the themes of allowing there 
to be some resource commitment to this new electric and hybrid 
technology. I, along with many of my colleagues and many Americans, 
believe that our country's researchers and engineers can and will 
develop the engine technology that will leapfrog automakers from all 
over the world and will speedily deploy an electric car of the future.
  The legislation today that we are considering accomplishes these 
goals by investing in a program that brings together these stakeholders 
from across the industry to develop this vehicle technology of tomorrow 
right here in the United States. I am confident that this technology 
and this program will provide automakers with the tools they need to 
lead the auto industry into a new generation of innovation.
  Let me point out that section 101 contains language to ensure that 
grants do not fund duplicative efforts. This is essential to our 
commitment to fiscal responsibility. It saves taxpayer money because 
grant recipients will not be reinventing the wheel separately, but will 
be coming together efficiently.
  I would like to commend my colleague, Congressman Gary Peters, for 
introducing this legislation and Chairman Bart Gordon for his 
leadership in bringing this legislation to the floor today.
  I urge passage of this rule and the underlying bill.
  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Madam Speaker, I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, the question is how do we create and 
perfect the nonpetroleum technologies that the market wants, and the 
Advanced Vehicle Technology Act is part of the answer.
  By jump-starting vehicle technology research, this bill puts American 
ingenuity to work in cleaning up our transportation sector and in 
protecting the planet. Electrifying vehicle systems, increasing engine 
durability, and developing waste-heat recovery systems are just a few 
of the many innovative technologies that this bill will support. At the 
same time, we know we need to take action today to fight global 
warming, to lessen our petroleum dependence, and to create jobs here in 
America. For that reason, this legislation before us emphasizes public-
private partnerships that will help create jobs in private industry, 
not just in government offices.
  There is a reason why this bill is supported by Ford Motor Company, 
Delphi, Caterpillar, GM, EcoMotors, the United Auto Workers, and the 
National Association of Manufacturers. H.R. 3246 means good jobs today 
developing and building the vehicle technologies of tomorrow.
  When we can create jobs and cut our petroleum dependence at the same 
time, it's clear that we are making good policy, Madam Speaker. By this 
measure, the Advanced Vehicle Technology Act is the clearest and most 
straightforward kind of good policy. With this in mind, I urge my 
colleagues to support this very fair rule and the underlying 
legislation.
  I would like to thank Representative Peters, Representative Biggert 
and Chairman Gordon, as well as my colleagues on the Rules Committee 
and the committee staff of the Science and Technology Committee, for 
crafting this legislation that will increase the efficiency of our 
Nation's vehicle fleet while reducing our dependence on foreign oil.
  I yield back the balance of my time and move the previous question on 
the resolution.
  The previous question was ordered.
  The resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________