II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1648 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to improve the system for enhancing 

automobile fuel efficiency, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 9, 2005 

Mr. DURBIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to improve the 

system for enhancing automobile fuel efficiency, 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 ‘‘Automobile Fuel Effi5 ciency Improvements Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PHASED INCREASES IN FUEL ECONOMY STAND7 ARDS. 

8 (a) PASSENGER AUTOMOBILES.— 
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1 (1) MINIMUM STANDARDS.—Section 32902(b) 

2 of title 49, United States Code, is amended to read 

3 as follows: 

4 ‘‘(b) PASSENGER AUTOMOBILES.—Except as other5 wise provided under this section, the average fuel economy 

6 standard for passenger automobiles manufactured by a 

7 manufacturer in a model year— 

8 ‘‘(1) after model year 1984 and before model 

9 year 2008 shall be 25 miles per gallon; 

10 ‘‘(2) after model year 2007 and before model 

11 year 2011 shall be 28 miles per gallon; 

12 ‘‘(3) after model year 2010 and before model 

13 year 2014 shall be 32 miles per gallon; 

14 ‘‘(4) after model year 2013 and before model 

15 year 2017 shall be 36 miles per gallon; and 

16 ‘‘(5) after model year 2016 shall be 40 miles 

17 per gallon.’’. 

18 (2) HIGHER STANDARDS SET BY REGULA19 TION.—Section 32902(c) of title 49, United States 

20 Code, is amended— 

21 (A) by striking paragraph (2); and 

22 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

23 (i) by striking ‘‘Subject to paragraph 

24 (2) of this subsection, the’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘The’’; 
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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘amending the stand2 ard’’ and inserting ‘‘increasing the stand3 ard otherwise applicable’’; and 

4 (iii) by striking ‘‘Section 553’’ and in5 serting the following: 

6 ‘‘(2) Section 553’’. 

7 (b) NON-PASSENGER AUTOMOBILES.—Section 

8 32902(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘At least 18 months before each 

10 model year,’’ and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(1) The average fuel economy standard applicable 

12 for automobiles (except passenger automobiles) manufac13 tured by a manufacturer in a model year— 

14 ‘‘(A) after model year 1984 and before model 

15 year 2008 shall be 17 miles per gallon; 

16 ‘‘(B) after model year 2007 and before model 

17 year 2011 shall be 19 miles per gallon; 

18 ‘‘(C) after model year 2010 and before model 

19 year 2014 shall be 21.5 miles per gallon; 

20 ‘‘(D) after model year 2013 and before model 

21 year 2017 shall be 24.5 miles per gallon; and 

22 ‘‘(E) after model year 2016 shall be 27.5 miles 

23 per gallon, except as provided under paragraph (2). 

24 ‘‘(2) At least 18 months before the beginning of each 

25 model year after model year 2017,’’; and 
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1 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(3) If the Secretary does not increase the average 

3 fuel economy standard applicable under paragraph (1)(E) 

4 or (2), or applicable to any class under paragraph (2), 

5 within 24 months after the latest increase in the standard 

6 applicable under paragraph (1)(E) or (2), the Secretary, 

7 not later than 90 days after the expiration of the 24- 

8 month period, shall submit to Congress a report con9 taining an explanation of the reasons for not increasing 

10 the standard.’’. 

11 SEC. 3. INCREASED INCLUSIVENESS OF DEFINITIONS OF 

12 AUTOMOBILE AND PASSENGER AUTOMOBILE. 

13 (a) AUTOMOBILE.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 32901(a)(3) of title 

15 49, United States Code, is amended— 

16 (A) by striking ‘‘6,000 pounds’’ each place 

17 it appears and inserting ‘‘12,000 pounds’’; and 

18 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 

19 (i) by striking ‘‘10,000 pounds’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘14,000 pounds’’; and 

21 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘an av22 erage fuel economy standard’’ and all that 

23 follows through ‘‘conservation or’’. 
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1 (2) SPECIAL RULE.—Section 32908(a)(1) of 

2 such title is amended by striking ‘‘8,500 pounds’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘14,000 pounds’’. 

4 (b) PASSENGER AUTOMOBILE.—Section 

5 32901(a)(16) of title 49, United States Code, is amended 

6 to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(16) ‘passenger automobile’— 

8 ‘‘(A) means, except as provided in sub9 paragraph (B), an automobile having a gross 

10 vehicle weight of 12,000 pounds or less that is 

11 designed to be used principally for the transpor12 tation of persons; but 

13 ‘‘(B) does not include— 

14 ‘‘(i) a vehicle that has a primary load 

15 carrying device or container attached; 

16 ‘‘(ii) a vehicle that has a seating ca17 pacity of more than 12 persons; 

18 ‘‘(iii) a vehicle that has a seating ca19 pacity of more than 9 persons behind the 

20 driver’s seat; or 

21 ‘‘(iv) a vehicle that is equipped with a 

22 cargo area of at least 6 feet in interior 

23 length that does not extend beyond the 

24 frame of the vehicle and is an open area or 

25 is designed for use as an open area but is 
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1 enclosed by a cap and is not readily acces2 sible directly from the passenger compart3 ment.’’. 

4 (c) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this 

5 section shall apply with respect to automobiles manufac6 tured for model years beginning after the date of enact7 ment of this Act. 

8 SEC. 4. CIVIL PENALTIES. 

9 (a) INCREASED PENALTY FOR VIOLATIONS OF FUEL

10 ECONOMY STANDARDS.—Section 32912(b) of title 49, 

11 United States Code, is amended— 

12 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘Except as pro13 vided’’; 

14 (2) by striking ‘‘$5’’ and inserting ‘‘the dollar 

15 amount applicable under paragraph (2)’’; 

16 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and 

17 (3) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), respectively; 

18 and 

19 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(2)(A) The dollar amount referred to in paragraph 

21 (1) is $10, as increased from time to time under subpara22 graph (B). 

23 ‘‘(B) Effective on October 1 of each year, the dollar 

24 amount applicable under subparagraph (A) shall be in25 creased by the percentage (rounded to the nearest one- 
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1 tenth of one percent) by which the price index for July 

2 of such year exceeds the price index for July of the pre3 ceding year. The amount calculated under the preceding 

4 sentence shall be rounded to the nearest $0.10. 

5 ‘‘(C) In this paragraph, the term ‘price index’ means 

6 the Consumer Price Index for all-urban consumers pub7 lished monthly by the Department of Labor.’’. 

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

9 32912(c)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

10 (1) by striking subparagraph (B); and 

11 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and 

12 (D) as subparagraphs (B) and (C), respectively. 

13 (c) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub14 section (a) shall apply with respect to automobiles manu15 factured for model years beginning after the date of enact16 ment of this Act. 

17 SEC. 5. ACCURATE FUEL ECONOMY TESTING. 

18 (a) BIENNIAL REPORT ON TESTING QUALITY.— 

19 (1) REQUIREMENT FOR REPORT.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 329 of title 

21 49, United States Code, is amended by adding 

22 at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘§ 32920. Biennial report on testing quality 

24 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT FOR REPORT.—Not later than 

25 October 1 of each odd-numbered year, the Secretary of 
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1 Transportation shall submit to Congress a report on the 

2 quality of the testing for determining automobile fuel 

3 economy under this chapter for all currently available 

4 technologies for automobiles. 

5 ‘‘(b) CONTENT OF REPORT.—The report shall in6 clude the following information: 

7 ‘‘(1) An assessment of the accuracy of the fuel 

8 economy determined for automobiles in relation to 

9 actual highway and road vehicle fuel economy. 

10 ‘‘(2) A discussion of changes in testing method11 ology that are planned to be made, together with an 

12 assessment of the effects that such changes are ex13 pected to have on the accuracy of the measures of 

14 automobile fuel economy resulting from the use of 

15 the testing methodology as changed. 

16 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary 

17 of Transportation and the Administrator of the Environ18 mental Protection Agency shall consult on the preparation 

19 of the biennial report under this section.’’. 

20 (B) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of 

21 sections at the beginning of chapter 329 of title 

22 49, United States Code, is amended by adding 

23 at the end the following new item: 

‘‘32920. Biennial report on testing quality.’’. 

24 (2) FIRST REPORT.—The first report under sec25 tion 32920 of title 49, United States Code, as added 
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1 by paragraph (1), shall be submitted to Congress in 

2 2007. 

3 (b) IMPROVEMENT OF PROCESS FOR MEASURING

4 FUEL ECONOMY.— 

5 (1) STUDY.— 

6 (A) REQUIREMENT FOR STUDY.—The Sec7 retary of Transportation shall provide for the 

8 John A. Volpe National Transportation Sys9 tems Center to carry out a study— 

10 (i) to determine what practicable 

11 automobile fuel economy testing process 

12 provides the most accurate measures of ac13 tual automobile fuel economy in highway 

14 use, in urban use, and in combined high15 way and in urban use; and 

16 (ii) to compare the average automobile 

17 fuel economy ratings calculated under the 

18 testing process determined under clause (i) 

19 for each category of automobile use de20 scribed in that clause with the cor21 responding automobile fuel economy rat22 ings calculated under the testing process in 

23 use under chapter 329 of title 49, United 

24 States Code, on the date of enactment of 

25 this Act. 
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1 (B) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

3 shall submit to Congress a report on the results 

4 of the study under subparagraph (A), which 

5 shall include— 

6 (i) the determination and comparisons 

7 made under subparagraph (A); and 

8 (ii) an estimate of the average adjust9 ment to automobile fuel economy ratings 

10 calculated under the testing process used 

11 for the purposes of chapter 329 of title 49, 

12 United States Code, as of the date of en13 actment of this Act that is needed to con14 form those ratings closely to the auto15 mobile fuel economy ratings calculated 

16 under the testing process determined most 

17 accurate under subparagraph (A)(i). 

18 (2) TESTING PROCEDURE REVISION.— 

19 (A) REQUIREMENT FOR REVISED PROCE20 DURE.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

21 on which the report required under paragraph 

22 (1)(B) is submitted to Congress, the Secretary 

23 of Transportation shall prescribe, by regula24 tion— 
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1 (i) a revised testing procedure for ac2 curately measuring the actual automobile 

3 fuel economy of each model of automobile; 

4 and 

5 (ii) a requirement that the revised 

6 testing procedure be applied for the pur7 poses of chapter 329 of title 49, United 

8 States Code, to determine the average fuel 

9 economy of the automobiles manufactured 

10 in model years after model year 2008. 

11 (B) MODEL FOR REVISED PROCEDURE.— 

12 The testing procedure prescribed under sub13 paragraph (A) shall be based on the testing 

14 process identified in the report required under 

15 paragraph (1)(B) as providing the most accu16 rate measures of actual automobile fuel econ17 omy. 

18 (3) COMPARABLE ADJUSTMENT IN AVERAGE

19 FUEL ECONOMY STANDARDS.— 

20 (A) REQUIREMENT FOR ADJUSTMENT.— 

21 For automobiles manufactured in model years 

22 after model year 2008, the Secretary of Trans23 portation shall amend each average fuel econ24 omy standard prescribed under section 32902 

25 of title 49, United States Code, to take into ac-
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1 count improved accuracy in the calculation of 

2 automobile fuel economy that results from use 

3 of the revised testing procedure applied as re4 quired under paragraph (2). 

5 (B) CONDITION.—The Secretary shall en6 sure that each average fuel economy standard 

7 applied as amended under subparagraph (A) is 

8 at least as stringent as the corresponding aver9 age fuel economy standard that the Secretary 

10 would have applied under section 32902 of title 

11 49, United States Code, if the fuel economy 

12 testing procedure had not been revised as re13 quired under paragraph (2). 

14 SEC. 6. STANDARDS FOR EXECUTIVE AGENCY AUTO15 MOBILES. 

16 Section 32917 of title 49, United States Code, is 

17 amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (b)— 

19 (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 

20 follows: 

21 ‘‘(1) The President shall prescribe regulations that 

22 require automobiles leased for at least 60 consecutive days 

23 or bought by executive agencies in a fiscal year to 

24 achieve— 
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1 ‘‘(A) in the case of non-passenger automobiles, 

2 a fleet average fuel economy for that year of at least 

3 the average fuel economy standard applicable under 

4 section 32902(a) of this title for the model year that 

5 includes January 1 of that fiscal year; and 

6 ‘‘(B) in the case of passenger automobiles, a 

7 fleet average fuel economy for that year of at least 

8 the average fuel economy standard applicable under 

9 subsection (b) or (c) of section 32902 of this title for 

10 such model year.’’; 

11 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

12 (i) by striking ‘‘Fleet average fuel 

13 economy is—’’ and inserting ‘‘For the pur14 poses of paragraph (1), the fleet average 

15 fuel economy of non-passenger or pas16 senger automobiles in a fiscal year is—’’; 

17 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

18 ‘‘passenger automobiles leased for at least 

19 60 consecutive days or bought by executive 

20 agencies in a’’ and inserting ‘‘the non-pas21 senger automobiles or passenger auto22 mobiles, respectively, that are leased for at 

23 least 60 consecutive days or bought by ex24 ecutive agencies in such’’; and 
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1 (iii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

2 ‘‘such’’ after ‘‘the number of’’; and 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(c) MINIMUM NUMBER OF EXCEPTIONALLY FUEL5 EFFICIENT VEHICLES.—The President shall prescribe 

6 regulations that require that— 

7 ‘‘(1) at least 20 percent of the passenger auto8 mobiles leased for at least 60 consecutive days or 

9 bought by executive agencies in a fiscal year have a 

10 vehicle fuel economy rating that is at least 5 miles 

11 per gallon higher than the average fuel economy 

12 standard applicable to the automobile under sub13 section (b) or (c) of section 32902 of this title for 

14 the model year that includes January 1 of that fiscal 

15 year; and 

16 ‘‘(2) beginning in fiscal year 2011, at least 

17 10,000 vehicles in the fleet of automobiles used by 

18 executive agencies in a fiscal year have a vehicle fuel 

19 economy that is at least 5 miles per gallon higher 

20 than the average fuel economy standards applicable 

21 to such automobiles under section 32902 of this title 

22 for the model year that includes January 1 of that 

23 fiscal year.’’. 

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