109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5538
To reduce the Nation's dependence on foreign sources of oil by
promoting plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and related advanced vehicle
technologies.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 7, 2006
Mr. SMITH of Texas (for himself, Mr. HONDA, Mrs. BIGGERT, Mr. GORDON, Mr.
KINGSTON, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland, Mr. ENGEL,
and Mr. MCCAUL of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Science
A BILL
To reduce the Nation's dependence on foreign sources of oil by
promoting plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and related advanced vehicle
technologies.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle Act of 2006'.
SEC. 2. NEAR-TERM VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM.
(a) Definitions- In this section:
(1) BATTERY- The term `battery' means a device or system for the electrochemical
storage of energy.
(2) BIOMASS- The term `biomass' has meaning given the term in section
932 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16232).
(3) E85- The term `E85' means a fuel blend containing 85 percent ethanol
and 15 percent gasoline by volume.
(4) ELECTRIC DRIVE TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGY- The term `electric drive
transportation technology' means--
(A) vehicles that use an electric motor for all or part of their motive
power and that may or may not use offboard electricity, including battery
electric vehicles, fuel cell vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in
hybrid electric vehicles, flexible fuel plug-in hybrid electric vehicles,
and electric rail; and
(B) related equipment, including electric equipment necessary to recharge
a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.
(5) FLEXIBLE FUEL PLUG-IN HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLE- The term `flexible
fuel plug-in hybrid electric vehicle' means a plug-in hybrid electric
vehicle--
(A) warranted by its manufacturer as capable of operating on any combination
of gasoline or E85 for its onboard internal combustion or heat engine;
or
(B) that uses a fuel cell for battery charging when disconnected from
offboard power sources.
(6) FUEL CELL VEHICLE- The term `fuel cell vehicle' means an onroad vehicle
that uses a fuel cell (as defined in section 803 of the Energy Policy
Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16152)).
(7) HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLE- The term `hybrid electric vehicle' means
an onroad vehicle that--
(A) can operate on either liquid combustible fuel or electric power
provided by an onboard battery; and
(B) utilizes regenerative power capture technology to recover energy
expended in braking the vehicle for use in recharging the battery.
(8) PLUG-IN HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLE- The term `plug-in hybrid electric
vehicle' means a hybrid electric vehicle that can operate solely on electric
power for a minimum of 20 miles under city driving conditions, and that
is capable of recharging its battery from an offboard electricity source.
(9) SECRETARY- The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of Energy.
(b) Program- The Secretary shall conduct a program of research, development,
demonstration, and commercial application on technologies needed for the
development of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, including--
(1) high capacity, high efficiency batteries, to--
(A) improve battery life, energy storage capacity, and power delivery
capacity, and lower cost; and
(B) minimize waste and hazardous material production in the entire value
chain, including after the end of the useful life of the batteries;
(2) high efficiency onboard and offboard charging components;
(3) high power drive train systems for passenger and commercial vehicles
and for supporting equipment;
(4) onboard energy management systems, power trains, and systems integration
for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, flexible fuel plug-in hybrid electric
vehicles, and hybrid electric vehicles, including efficient cooling systems
and systems that minimize the emissions profile of such vehicles; and
(5) lightweight materials, including research, development, demonstration,
and commercial application to reduce the cost of materials such as steel
alloys and carbon fibers.
(c) Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Demonstration Program-
(1) ESTABLISHMENT- The Secretary shall establish a competitive grant pilot
demonstration program to provide not more than 25 grants annually to State
governments, local governments, metropolitan transportation authorities,
or combinations thereof to carry out a project or projects for demonstration
of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
(A) REQUIREMENTS- The Secretary shall issue requirements for applying
for grants under the demonstration pilot program. The Secretary shall
require that applications, at a minimum, include a description of how
data will be--
(I) performance of the vehicle or vehicles and the components, including
the battery, energy management, and charging systems, under various
driving speeds, trip ranges, traffic, and other driving conditions;
(II) costs of the vehicle or vehicles, including acquisition, operating,
and maintenance costs, and how the project or projects will be self-sustaining
after Federal assistance is completed; and
(III) emissions of the vehicle or vehicles, including greenhouse
gases, and the amount of petroleum displaced as a result of the
project or projects; and
(ii) summarized for dissemination to the Department, other grantees,
and the public.
(B) PARTNERS- An applicant under subparagraph (A) may carry out a project
or projects under the pilot program in partnership with one or more
private entities.
(A) PREFERENCE- When making awards under this subsection, the Secretary
shall consider each applicant's previous experience involving plug-in
hybrid electric vehicles and shall give preference to proposals that--
(i) provide the greatest demonstration per award dollar, with preference
increasing as the number of miles that a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle
can operate solely on electric power under city driving conditions
increases; and
(ii) demonstrate the greatest commitment on the part of the applicant
to ensure funding for the proposed project or projects and the greatest
likelihood that each project proposed in the application will be maintained
or expanded after Federal assistance under this subsection is completed.
(B) BREADTH OF DEMONSTRATIONS- In awarding grants under this subsection,
the Secretary shall ensure the program will demonstrate plug-in hybrid
electric vehicles under various circumstances, including--
(iii) driving conditions;
(iv) climate conditions; and
to optimize understanding and function of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
(5) PILOT PROJECT REQUIREMENTS-
(A) SUBSEQUENT FUNDING- An applicant that has received a grant in one
year may apply for additional funds in subsequent years, but the Secretary
shall not provide more than $10,000,000 in Federal assistance under
the pilot program to any applicant for the period encompassing fiscal
years 2007 through fiscal year 2011.
(B) INFORMATION- The Secretary shall establish mechanisms to ensure
that the information and knowledge gained by participants in the pilot
program are shared among the pilot program participants and are available
to other interested parties, including other applicants.
(6) AWARD AMOUNTS- The Secretary shall determine grant amounts, but the
maximum size of grants shall decline as the cost of producing plug-in
hybrid electric vehicles declines or the cost of converting a hybrid electric
vehicle to a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle declines.
(d) Cost Sharing- The Secretary shall carry out the program under this section
in compliance with section 988(a) through (d) and section 989 of the Energy
Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16352(a) through (d) and 16353).
(e) Authorization of Appropriations- There are authorized to be appropriated
to the Secretary--
(1) for carrying out subsection (b), $250,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2007 through 2011, of which up to $50,000,000 may be used for the program
described in paragraph (5) of that subsection; and
(2) for carrying out subsection (c), $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2007 through 2011.
END
