I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1915 

To promote the future of the American automobile industry, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 18, 2007 

Mr. CASTLE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science and Technology, and in addition to the Committees on 

Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To promote the future of the American automobile industry, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Automobile 

5 Industry Promotion Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ADVANCED ENERGY INITIATIVE FOR VEHICLES. 

7 (a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are— 

8 (1) to enable and promote, in partnership with 

9 industry, comprehensive development, demonstraVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:36 Apr 20, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1915.IH H1915

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1 tion, and commercialization of a wide range of elec2 tric drive components, systems, and vehicles using 

3 diverse electric drive transportation technologies; 

4 (2) to make critical public investments to help 

5 private industry, institutions of higher education, 

6 National Laboratories, and research institutions to 

7 expand innovation, industrial growth, and jobs in the 

8 United States; 

9 (3) to expand the availability of the existing 

10 electric infrastructure for fueling light duty trans11 portation and other on-road and nonroad vehicles 

12 that are using petroleum and are mobile sources of 

13 emissions— 

14 (A) including the more than 3,000,000 re15 ported units (such as electric forklifts, golf 

16 carts, and similar nonroad vehicles) in use on 

17 the date of enactment of this Act; and 

18 (B) with the goal of enhancing the energy 

19 security of the United States, reducing depend20 ence on imported oil, and reducing emissions 

21 through the expansion of grid-supported mobil22 ity; 

23 (4) to accelerate the widespread commercializa24 tion of all types of electric drive vehicle technology 

25 into all sizes and applications of vehicles, including 


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1 commercialization of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles 

2 and plug-in hybrid fuel cell vehicles; and 

3 (5) to improve the energy efficiency of, and re4 duce petroleum use in, transportation. 

5 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 (1) BATTERY.—The term ‘‘battery’’ means an 

7 energy storage device used in an on-road or nonroad 

8 vehicle powered in whole or in part using an off9 board or on-board source of electricity. 

10 (2) ELECTRIC DRIVE TRANSPORTATION TECH11 NOLOGY.—The term ‘‘electric drive transportation 

12 technology’’ means— 

13 (A) a vehicle that— 

14 (i) uses an electric motor for all or 

15 part of the motive power of the vehicle; 

16 and 

17 (ii) may use off-board electricity, 

18 including battery electric vehicles, fuel cell vehi19 cles, engine-dominant hybrid electric vehicles, 

20 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid 

21 fuel cell vehicles, and electric rail; or 

22 (B) equipment relating to transportation 

23 or mobile sources of air pollution that uses an 

24 electric motor to replace an internal combustion 

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1 ment, including corded electric equipment 

2 linked to transportation or mobile sources of air 

3 pollution. 

4 (3) ENGINE-DOMINANT HYBRID ELECTRIC VE5 HICLE.—The term ‘‘engine-dominant hybrid electric 

6 vehicle’’ means an on-road or nonroad vehicle that— 

7 (A) is propelled by an internal combustion 

8 engine or heat engine using— 

9 (i) any combustible fuel; and 

10 (ii) an on-board, rechargeable storage 

11 device; and 

12 (B) has no means of using an off-board 

13 source of electricity. 

14 (4) FUEL CELL VEHICLE.—The term ‘‘fuel cell 

15 vehicle’’ means an on-road or nonroad vehicle that 

16 uses a fuel cell (as defined in section 803 of the En17 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16152)). 

18 (5) INITIATIVE.—The term ‘‘Initiative’’ means 

19 the Advanced Battery Initiative established by the 

20 Secretary under subsection (f)(1). 

21 (6) NONROAD VEHICLE.—The term ‘‘nonroad 

22 vehicle’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

23 216 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7550). 

24 (7) PLUG-IN HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLE.—The 

25 term ‘‘plug-in hybrid electric vehicle’’ means an onVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:36 Apr 20, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1915.IH H1915

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1 road or nonroad vehicle that is propelled by an inter2 nal combustion engine or heat engine using— 

3 (A) any combustible fuel; 

4 (B) an on-board, rechargeable storage de5 vice; and 

6 (C) a means of using an off-board source 

7 of electricity. 

8 (8) PLUG-IN HYBRID FUEL CELL VEHICLE.— 

9 The term ‘‘plug-in hybrid fuel cell vehicle’’ means an 

10 onroad or nonroad vehicle that is propelled by a fuel 

11 cell using— 

12 (A) any compatible fuel; 

13 (B) an on-board, rechargeable storage de14 vice; and 

15 (C) a means of using an off-board source 

16 of electricity. 

17 (9) INDUSTRY ALLIANCE.—The term ‘‘Industry 

18 Alliance’’ means the entity selected by the Secretary 

19 under subsection (f)(2). 

20 (10) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

21 The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

22 meaning given the term in section 2 of the Energy 

23 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801). 

24 (11) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

25 means the Secretary of Energy. 


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1 (c) GOALS.—The goals of the electric drive transpor2 tation technology program established under subsection 

3 (e) shall be to develop, in partnership with industry and 

4 institutions of higher education, projects that focus on— 

5 (1) innovative electric drive technology devel6 oped in the United States; 

7 (2) growth of employment in the United States 

8 in electric drive design and manufacturing; 

9 (3) validation of the plug-in hybrid potential 

10 through fleet demonstrations; and 

11 (4) acceleration of fuel cell commercialization 

12 through comprehensive development and commer13 cialization of battery technology systems independent 

14 of fundamental fuel cell vehicle technology develop15 ment. 

16 (d) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 120 days after the 

17 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall offer 

18 to enter into an arrangement with the National Academy 

19 of Sciences— 

20 (1) to conduct an assessment (in cooperation 

21 with industry, standards development organizations, 

22 and other entities, as appropriate), of state-of-the23 art battery technologies with potential application 

24 for electric drive transportation; 


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1 (2) to identify knowledge gaps in the scientific 

2 and technological bases of battery manufacture and 

3 use; 

4 (3) to identify fundamental research areas that 

5 would likely have a significant impact on the devel6 opment of superior battery technologies for electric 

7 drive vehicle applications; and 

8 (4) to recommend steps to the Secretary to ac9 celerate the development of battery technologies for 

10 electric drive transportation. 

11 (e) PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall conduct a pro12 gram of research, development, demonstration, and com13 mercial application for electric drive transportation tech14 nology, including— 

15 (1) high-capacity, high-efficiency batteries; 

16 (2) high-efficiency on-board and off-board 

17 charging components; 

18 (3) high-powered drive train systems for pas19 senger and commercial vehicles and for nonroad 

20 equipment; 

21 (4) control system development and power train 

22 development and integration for plug-in hybrid elec23 tric vehicles, plug-in hybrid fuel cell vehicles, and en24 gine-dominant hybrid electric vehicles, including— 


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1 (A) development of efficient cooling sys2 tems; 

3 (B) analysis and development of control 

4 systems that minimize the emissions profile 

5 when clean diesel engines are part of a plug-in 

6 hybrid drive system; and 

7 (C) development of different control sys8 tems that optimize for different goals, includ9 ing— 

10 (i) battery life; 

11 (ii) reduction of petroleum consump12 tion; and 

13 (iii) greenhouse gas reduction; 

14 (5) nanomaterial technology applied to both 

15 battery and fuel cell systems; 

16 (6) large-scale demonstrations, testing, and 

17 evaluation of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in dif18 ferent applications with different batteries and con19 trol systems, including— 

20 (A) military applications; 

21 (B) mass market passenger and light-duty 

22 truck applications; 

23 (C) private fleet applications; and 

24 (D) medium- and heavy-duty applications; 


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1 (7) a nationwide education strategy for electric 

2 drive transportation technologies providing sec3 ondary school teaching materials and support for 

4 education offered by institutions of higher education 

5 that is focused on electric drive system and compo6 nent engineering; 

7 (8) development, in consultation with the Ad8 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, 

9 of procedures for testing and certification of criteria 

10 pollutants, fuel economy, and petroleum use for 

11 light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicle applications, 

12 including consideration of— 

13 (A) the vehicle and fuel as a system, not 

14 just an engine; and 

15 (B) nightly off-board charging; and 

16 (9) advancement of battery and corded electric 

17 transportation technologies in mobile source applica18 tions by— 

19 (A) improvement in battery, drive train, 

20 and control system technologies; and 

21 (B) working with industry and the Admin22 istrator of the Environmental Protection Agen23 cy— 

24 (i) to understand and inventory mar25 kets; and 


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1 (ii) to identify and implement methods 

2 of removing barriers for existing and 

3 emerging applications. 

4 (f) ADVANCED BATTERY INITIATIVE.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

6 and carry out an Advanced Battery Initiative in ac7 cordance with this subsection to support research, 

8 development, demonstration, and commercial appli9 cation of battery technologies. 

10 (2) INDUSTRY ALLIANCE.—Not later than 180 

11 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

12 Secretary shall competitively select an Industry Alli13 ance to represent participants who are private, for14 profit firms headquartered in the United States, the 

15 primary business of which is the manufacturing of 

16 batteries. 

17 (3) RESEARCH.— 

18 (A) GRANTS.—The Secretary shall carry 

19 out research activities of the Initiative through 

20 competitively-awarded grants to— 

21 (i) researchers, including Industry Al22 liance participants; 

23 (ii) small businesses; 

24 (iii) National Laboratories; and 

25 (iv) institutions of higher education. 


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1 (B) INDUSTRY ALLIANCE.—The Secretary 

2 shall annually solicit from the Industry Alli3 ance— 

4 (i) comments to identify advanced 

5 battery technology needs relevant to elec6 tric drive technology; 

7 (ii) an assessment of the progress of 

8 research activities of the Initiative; and 

9 (iii) assistance in annually updating 

10 advanced battery technology roadmaps. 

11 (4) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.—The infor12 mation and roadmaps developed under this sub13 section shall be available to the public. 

14 (5) PREFERENCE.—In making awards under 

15 this subsection, the Secretary shall give preference 

16 to participants in the Industry Alliance. 

17 (g) COST SHARING.—In carrying out this section, the 

18 Secretary shall require cost sharing in accordance with 

19 section 988 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

20 16352). 

21 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

22 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

23 $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012. 


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1 SEC. 3. AVAILABILITY OF NEW ADVANCED LEAN BURN 

2 TECHNOLOGY MOTOR VEHICLE CREDIT FOR 

3 HIGH-EFFICIENCY DIESEL MOTOR VEHICLES 

4 THROUGH TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF 

5 EMISSION STANDARDS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Clause (iv) of section 

7 30B(c)(3)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (de8 fining new advanced lean burn technology motor vehicle 

9 credit) is amended by striking ‘‘2004’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘2012’’. 

11 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

12 this section shall apply to property purchased after the 

13 date of the enactment of this Act. 

14 SEC. 4. BIODIESEL STANDARDS. 

15 Section 211 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545) 

16 is amended— 

17 (1) by redesignating the first subsection (r) (re18 lating to the definition of the term ‘‘manufacturer’’) 

19 as subsection (t) and moving the subsection so as to 

20 appear after subsection (s); and 

21 (2) by inserting after subsection (o) the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(p) BIODIESEL STANDARDS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

25 ‘‘(A) BIODIESEL.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘bio2 diesel’ means the monoalkyl esters of long 

3 chain fatty acids derived from plant or ani4 mal matter that meet— 

5 ‘‘(I) the registration require6 ments for fuels and fuel additives es7 tablished under this section; and 

8 ‘‘(II) the requirements of the 

9 American Society of Testing and Ma10 terials D6751. 

11 ‘‘(ii) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘bio12 diesel’ includes esters described in clause 

13 (i) derived from— 

14 ‘‘(I) animal waste, including 

15 poultry fat, poultry waste, and other 

16 waste material; and 

17 ‘‘(II) municipal solid waste, 

18 sludge, and oil derived from waste19 water or the treatment of wastewater. 

20 ‘‘(B) BIODIESEL BLEND.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘bio22 diesel blend’ means a mixture of biodiesel 

23 and diesel fuel (as defined in section 

24 4083(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

25 1986). 


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1 ‘‘(ii) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘bio2 diesel blend’ includes— 

3 ‘‘(I) a blend of biodiesel and die4 sel fuel approximately 5 percent of the 

5 content of which is biodiesel (com6 monly known as ‘B5’); and 

7 ‘‘(II) a blend of biodiesel and die8 sel fuel approximately 20 percent of 

9 the content of which is biodiesel (com10 monly known as ‘B20’). 

11 ‘‘(2) STANDARDS.—Not later than 180 days 

12 after the date of enactment of the American Auto13 mobile Industry Promotion Act of 2007, the Admin14 istrator shall promulgate regulations to establish 

15 standards for each biodiesel blend that is sold or in16 troduced into commerce in the United States.’’. 

Æ 


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