[Senate Report 117-139]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                      Calendar No. 465
117th Congress      }                                   {       Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session         }                                   {      117-139
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     



                        STRATEGIC EV MANAGEMENT

                              ACT OF 2022

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              to accompany

                                S. 4057

               TO DEVELOP A COMPREHENSIVE, STRATEGIC PLAN
               FOR FEDERAL ELECTRIC VEHICLE FLEET BATTERY
                   MANAGEMENT, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES







            [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]







                 August 3, 2022.--Ordered to be printed 
                 
                             _________
                              
                              
                 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
                 
29-010                   WASHINGTON : 2022
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                   GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware           ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire         RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona              RAND PAUL, Kentucky
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada                  JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
ALEX PADILLA, California             MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JON OSSOFF, Georgia                  RICK SCOTT, Florida
                                     JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri

                   David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
                    Zachary I. Schram, Chief Counsel
            Lena C. Chang, Director of Governmental Affairs
              Chelsea A. Davis, Professional Staff Member
                Pamela Thiessen, Minority Staff Director
            Sam J. Mulopulos, Minority Deputy Staff Director
       Cara G. Mumford, Minority Director of Governmental Affairs
                  Andrew J. Hopkins, Minority Counsel
                     Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk




















                                                      Calendar No. 465
117th Congress      }                                   {       Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session         }                                   {      117-139

======================================================================



 
                  STRATEGIC EV MANAGEMENT ACT OF 2022

                                _______
                                

                 August 3, 2022.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Peters, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                    Affairs, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 4057]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 4057), to develop a 
comprehensive, strategic plan for federal electric vehicle 
fleet battery management, and for other purposes, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute and recommends, that 
the bill, as amended, do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                     Page
  I. Purpose and Summary..............................................  1
 II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................  2
III. Legislative History..............................................  3
 IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported.............  3
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................  4
 VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................  5
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............  6

                         I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    S. 4057, the Strategic EV Management Act of 2022, directs 
the General Services Administration (GSA), in consultation with 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), to work with 
agencies to develop a system for managing electric vehicle (EV) 
batteries for the federal EV fleet, including managing EV 
battery reuse and recycling.

              II. BACKGROUND AND THE NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    In fiscal year 2020, the federal fleet contained 3,170 EVs 
(including more than 2,400 vehicles at the Department of 
Defense alone).\1\ As the EV fleet continues to grow, it has 
become increasingly important that agencies have a 
comprehensive, strategic plan for the management of these 
vehicles to maximize the full potential of their economic, 
environmental, and strategic benefits.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\General Services Administration, Federal Fleet Report, (https://
www.gsa.gov/policy-regulations/policy/vehicle-management-policy/
federal-fleet-report) (accessed March 1, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Unlike traditional cars, which rely on an internal 
combustion engine that runs on petroleum-based fuel, EVs are 
powered by electricity that is stored in a large traction 
battery pack.\2\ Given these different mechanics and the 
central role of batteries in propulsion, EVs introduce new 
management considerations through the complete life-cycle of 
the vehicle. Proper battery care is extremely important to 
prolonging the life of electric vehicles. Experts have found 
that best practices such as avoiding an over-reliance on level 
three charging, minimizing the time batteries hold both a one-
hundred and zero percent charge, and avoiding extreme 
temperatures can significantly extend battery life, maximizing 
government investments in these vehicles.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\U.S. Department of Energy, How Do All-Electric Cars Work? 
(https://afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/how-do-all-electric-cars-work) 
(accessed March 1, 2022).
    \3\University of Michigan School for Environment and 
Sustainability, Tips for Extending the Lifetime of Lithium-ion 
Batteries (Feb. 1, 2020) (https://seas.umich.edu/news/tips-extending-
lifetime-lithium-ion-batteries).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Managing degraded batteries is another key component to 
efficient federal management of EVs. After ten or more years in 
a vehicle, EV batteries are likely to still hold more than two 
thirds of their usable energy storage.\4\ While reduced ranges 
eventually put batteries past their optimal mobile capacity, 
those that are retired can still have highly productive second-
life uses. Spent EV batteries have proven highly useful in 
providing backup storage for electricity generation. Automakers 
including General Motors and Nissan have already repurposed 
batteries towards such uses.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\Union of Concerned Scientists, Electric Vehicle Batteries 
Addressing Questions about Critical Materials and Recycling (Feb. 2021) 
(https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/2021-02/ev-battery-
recycling-fact-sheet.pdf).
    \5\Diane Cardwell, G.M. and Nissan Reusing Old Electric Car 
Batteries, New York Times (June 16, 2015) (https://www.nytimes.com/
2015/06/17/business/gm-and-nissan-reusing-old-electric-car-
batteries.html).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The private sector is also rapidly scaling up operations of 
EV battery recycling for two key reasons. First, the metals in 
EV batteries do not break down significantly in the recycling 
process. Recycling operations can already recover 95 percent of 
battery minerals.\6\ Additionally, given that EV batteries rely 
on critical metals and minerals commonly sourced from 
adversarial countries such as China, effective recycling could 
create a strategic closed-loop battery economy, decreasing U.S. 
reliance on foreign supply chains. Having a strategy for 
reusing and recycling federal EV batteries will create the 
opportunity for the government to generate value from an 
expended resource while simultaneously furthering environmental 
and strategic aims.

    \6\Jean Kumagai, Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Finally Takes off in 
North America And Europe, Institute of Electrical and Electronics 
Engineers (Jan. 5, 2021) (https://spectrum.ieee.org/lithiumion-battery-
recycling-finally-takes-off-in-north-america-and-europe).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    As the federal government continues to purchase electric 
vehicles, it must be equipped with sound management strategies 
to maximize value for the taxpayer. The Strategic EV Management 
Act would require GSA and OMB to coordinate with the heads of 
agencies to devise a comprehensive, strategic plan for federal 
EV fleet battery management that maximizes environmental and 
cost efficiencies. Such guidance must include instructions for 
optimal charging practices that will maximize battery longevity 
as well as guidelines for reusing and recycling retired vehicle 
batteries. In developing this guidance, GSA and OMB may consult 
with appropriate entities including the Department of Energy, 
Council on Environmental Quality, Environmental Protection 
Agency, industry, academic and other experts. The bill also 
includes reporting requirements on the strategic plan and its 
implementation across agencies, as well as a Government 
Accountability Office (GAO) study comparing the federal EV and 
gas-powered internal combustion fleets.

                        III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    Chairman Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced S. 4057, the 
Strategic EV Management Act of 2022, on April 7, 2022, with 
Senators Mitt Romney (R-UT), Richard Burr (R-NC), and Bill 
Hagerty (R-TN) as original cosponsors. The bill was referred to 
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. 
Senators Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and James Lankford (R-OK) joined as 
cosponsors on May 24, 2022. Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) joined as 
a cosponsor on May 25, 2022.
    The Committee considered S. 4057 at a business meeting on 
May 25, 2022. During the business meeting, a substitute 
amendment and a modification to the substitute amendment were 
offered by Chairman Peters and adopted by voice vote en bloc. 
The modified substitute amendment clarifies the intent to 
maximize cost efficiencies, adds more parameters on when 
guidance could be updated, adds the Environmental Protection 
Agency and universities as entities that could be consulted for 
expertise while developing the report, and adds a requirement 
to conduct a study on evaluating the value of EVs compared to 
internal combustion engine vehicles. The bill was ordered 
reported favorably by voice vote en bloc as amended, with 
Senator Hawley recorded as a ``no''. Senators Peters, Hassan, 
Sinema, Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff, Portman, Lankford, Romney, 
Scott, and Hawley were present.

        IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE BILL, AS REPORTED

Sec. 1. Short title

    This section cites the short title of the bill as the 
``Strategic EV Management Act of 2022.''

Sec. 2. Definitions

    This section defines various terms listed throughout the 
bill including administrator, meaning the Administrator of 
General Services; agency, which has the same meaning as it does 
in section 551 of title 5 in the United States Code; 
appropriate congressional committees, meaning the Senate 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the 
House Oversight and Reform Committee; and director, meaning the 
Office of Management and Budget Director.

Sec. 3. Strategic guidance

    Subsection (a) directs the OMB Director and GSA 
Administrator to work with the heads of agencies to develop a 
comprehensive, strategic plan for federal electric vehicle 
fleet battery management within 2 years.
    Subsection (b) describes the contents of the strategic 
plan, which must: maximize both cost and environmental 
efficiencies; incorporate guidelines for optimal charging 
practices that maximize battery longevity; establish guidelines 
for reusing and recycling batteries of retired vehicles; and 
include any other relevant components as determined by the 
Director and Administrator.
    Subsection (c) permits the Director and the Administrator 
to periodically update the strategic plan as they determine 
necessary based on new information relating to electric vehicle 
batteries that becomes available.
    Subsection (d) allows the Director and the Administrator to 
consult with appropriate entities in developing the strategic 
plan including the Secretary of Energy and other relevant 
public and private sector stakeholders.
    Subsection (e) requires that three years after the date of 
enactment, the Director and the Administrator submit a report 
describing the strategic guidance. By the following year, they 
must provide a briefing to the Committee on Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
Oversight and Reform of the House of Representatives on the 
implementation of the strategic plan.

Sec. 4. Study of federal fleet vehicles

    This section requires the GAO to conduct a study on how the 
costs and benefits of operating and maintaining electric 
vehicles in the federal fleet compare to the costs and benefits 
of operating and maintaining internal combustion engine 
vehicles. GAO must report on the findings of this study to 
Congress within 2 years after the bill is enacted.

                   V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT

    Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule 
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has 
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined 
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning 
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional 
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs 
on state, local, or tribal governments.

             VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, July 28, 2022.
Hon. Gary Peters,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. 
        Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 4057, the Strategic 
EV Management Act of 2022.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew 
Pickford.
            Sincerely,
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    

    S. 4057 would require the General Services Administration 
(GSA) to coordinate with the heads of federal agencies, and 
within two years of enactment, develop a comprehensive plan to 
optimize the useful life of batteries that power electric 
vehicles in the government's fleet. The bill also would require 
the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report on the 
costs and benefits of a fleet of electric vehicles compared 
with a fleet powered by gasoline and diesel fuel.
    Using information from GSA about the agency's management of 
its electric vehicle fleet, CBO expects that developing a 
comprehensive plan for battery management would not 
significantly increase the agency's administrative costs. In 
addition, because GAO is currently studying the issues that the 
bill would require for the report, CBO estimates that 
implementing this provision would have insignificant costs. 
Therefore, CBO estimates that the bill would not significantly 
affect spending subject to appropriation over the 2022-2027 
period.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew 
Pickford. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 
Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.

       VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

    This legislation would make no change in existing law, 
within the meaning of clauses (a) and (b) of subparagraph 12 of 
rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, because this 
legislation would not repeal or amend any provision of current 
law.

                                  [all]