[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 134 (Tuesday, September 22, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2327]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                ADVANCED VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY ACT OF 2009

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                             HON. PHIL HARE

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 16, 2009

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration 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:

  Mr. HARE. Mr. Chair, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3246, the 
Advanced Vehicle Technology Act of 2009. I commend our colleague from 
Michigan, Representative Gary Peters, for authoring this important 
legislation, which will create the most comprehensive national vehicle 
research and development program to date. I would also like to 
acknowledge my colleague from the Illinois delegation, Representative 
Judy Biggert, for her efforts in working with Representative Peters to 
bring this bill to the floor.
  Today, our nation faces many serious challenges such as rising 
unemployment, energy demands that continue to increase exponentially, 
fierce global competition in technology innovation and the threat of a 
warming planet, yet the Advanced Vehicle Technology Act provides hope 
in many of these areas. As one of the largest and busiest bases of 
manufacturing in the U.S., my home state of Illinois stands to greatly 
benefit from H.R. 3246. New opportunities are created for Illinois 
engine and equipment manufacturers, such as John Deere, to build and 
use products that excel in terms of efficiency and productivity, and 
contribute to our sustainability. The bill also ensures that American 
manufacturers remain competitive worldwide by allowing for the 
collaboration between the Department of Energy and American automakers 
and commercial, transit, and non-road vehicle manufacturers to develop 
cutting edge, environmentally friendly technologies.
  Additionally, I strongly urge the passage of Chairman Gordon's 
amendment to H.R. 3246, that includes a small--but important--change to 
this measure that I authored, which broadens the playing field for 
those wanting to collaborate with the Department of Energy under this 
program to include non-road mobile equipment manufacturers. I believe 
this change in language is critical as many states have petitioned the 
Environmental Protection Agency with their concerns over greenhouse gas 
emissions from non-road vehicles and have stated that these vehicles 
and pieces of equipment are worthy of consideration for partnership 
with the Department of Energy. Put simply, this amendment makes a great 
bill even better by allowing manufacturers of non-road mobile equipment 
in the fields of agriculture, construction and mining and forestry a 
chance to work with the Department of Energy to find innovative ways to 
reduce America's dependence on foreign oil and the harmful emissions 
that cause global warming.
  The Gordon amendment and the overall bill both help keep American 
innovation within U.S. borders, and importantly do the same for the 
research, development and manufacturing jobs that come with those 
innovations. Furthermore, this bill has the support of a broad range of 
groups such as Deere & Company, Caterpillar, the U.S. Chamber of 
Commerce, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Sierra Club. 
The wide array of support this bill has drawn from both ends of the 
spectrum is evidence of the need for this legislation to become law.
  The Advanced Vehicle Technology Act creates and preserves American 
jobs while having the potential to greatly impact our environment. 
Again, I applaud and thank my friends Gary Peters and Judy Biggert, who 
serve on the Science and Technology Committee for leading the charge on 
this important legislation. I would also like to thank Chairman Gordon 
and Ranking Member Hall for their support of this bill. Madam Speaker, 
I urge the House to adopt both the Gordon amendment and H.R. 3246, the 
Advanced Vehicle Technology Act of 2009.

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