I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1879 

To promote American leadership in vehicle manufacturing, job creation, improved air quality, and climate protection through domestic manufacturing of low- and zero-emission vehicles and development of electric 

vehicle charging networks, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 12, 2021 

Mrs. DINGELL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To promote American leadership in vehicle manufacturing, 

job creation, improved air quality, and climate protection 

through domestic manufacturing of low- and zero-emission vehicles and development of electric vehicle charging 

networks, 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 ‘‘U.S.A. Electrify For5 ward Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DOMESTIC MANUFACTURING CONVERSION GRANT 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 (a) HYBRID VEHICLES, ADVANCED VEHICLES, AND

4 FUEL CELL BUSES.—Subtitle B of title VII of the Energy 

5 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16061 et seq.) is amend6 ed— 

7 (1) in the subtitle header, by inserting ‘‘Plug8 In Electric Vehicles,’’ before ‘‘Hybrid Vehi9 cles’’; and 

10 (2) in part 1, in the part header, by striking 

11 ‘‘HYBRID’’ and inserting ‘‘PLUG-IN ELECTRIC’’. 

12 (b) PLUG-IN ELECTRIC VEHICLES.—Section 711 of 

13 the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16061) is 

14 amended to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 711. PLUG-IN ELECTRIC VEHICLES. 

16 ‘‘The Secretary shall accelerate efforts, related to do17 mestic manufacturing, that are directed toward the im18 provement of batteries, power electronics, and other tech19 nologies for use in plug-in electric vehicles.’’. 

20 (c) EFFICIENT HYBRID AND ADVANCED DIESEL VE21 HICLES.—Section 712 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 

22 (42 U.S.C. 16062) is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (a)— 

24 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, plug25 in electric,’’ after ‘‘efficient hybrid’’; and 


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1 (B) by amending paragraph (3) to read as 

2 follows: 

3 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—Priority shall be given to— 

4 ‘‘(A) the refurbishment or retooling of 

5 manufacturing facilities that have recently 

6 ceased operation or would otherwise cease oper7 ation in the near future; and 

8 ‘‘(B) applications containing a written as9 surance that— 

10 ‘‘(i) all laborers and mechanics em11 ployed by contractors or subcontractors 

12 during construction, alteration, retooling, 

13 or repair that is financed, in whole or in 

14 part, by a grant under this subsection shall 

15 be paid wages at rates not less than those 

16 prevailing on similar construction in the lo17 cality, as determined by the Secretary of 

18 Labor in accordance with sections 3141 

19 through 3144, 3146, and 3147 of title 40, 

20 United States Code; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) all laborers and mechanics em22 ployed by the owner or operator of a man23 ufacturing facility that is financed, in 

24 whole or in part, by a grant under this 

25 subsection shall be paid wages at rates not 


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1 less than those prevailing on similar con2 struction in the locality, as determined by 

3 the Secretary of Labor in accordance with 

4 sections 3141 through 3144, 3146, and 

5 3147 of title 40, United States Code.’’; 

6 and 

7 (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(c) COST SHARE AND GUARANTEE OF OPER10 ATION.— 

11 ‘‘(1) CONDITION.—A recipient of a grant under 

12 this section shall pay the Secretary the full amount 

13 of the grant if the facility financed in whole or in 

14 part under this subsection fails to manufacture 

15 goods for a period of at least 10 years after the com16 pletion of construction. 

17 ‘‘(2) COST SHARE.—Section 988(c) shall apply 

18 to a grant made under this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

20 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

21 out this section $2.5 billion for each of fiscal years 2022 

22 through 2031. 

23 ‘‘(e) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—An award made 

24 under this section after the date of enactment of this subVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 May 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1879.IH H1879

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1 section shall only be available with respect to facilities and 

2 equipment placed in service before December 30, 2035.’’. 

3 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con4 tents of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 is amended— 

5 (1) in the item relating to subtitle B of title 

6 VII, by inserting ‘‘Plug-In Electric Vehicles,’’ before 

7 ‘‘Hybrid Vehicles’’; 

8 (2) in the item relating to part 1 of such sub9 title, by striking ‘‘Hybrid’’ and inserting ‘‘Plug-In 

10 Electric’’; and 

11 (3) in the item relating to section 711, by strik12 ing ‘‘Hybrid’’ and inserting ‘‘Plug-in electric’’. 

13 SEC. 3. MODEL BUILDING CODE FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLE 

14 SUPPLY EQUIPMENT. 

15 (a) REVIEW.—The Secretary shall review proposed or 

16 final model building codes for— 

17 (1) integrating electric vehicle supply equipment 

18 into residential and commercial buildings that in19 clude space for individual vehicle or fleet vehicle 

20 parking; and 

21 (2) integrating onsite renewable power equip22 ment and electric storage equipment (including elec23 tric vehicle batteries to be used for electric storage) 

24 into residential and commercial buildings. 


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1 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 

2 provide technical assistance to stakeholders representing 

3 the building construction industry, manufacturers of elec4 tric vehicles and electric vehicle supply equipment, State 

5 and local governments, and any other persons with rel6 evant expertise or interests to facilitate understanding of 

7 the model code and best practices for adoption by jurisdic8 tions. 

9 SEC. 4. TRANSPORTATION ELECTRIFICATION. 

10 Section 131 of the Energy Independence and Security 

11 Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17011) is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a)(6)— 

13 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘, 

14 including ground support equipment at ports’’ 

15 before the semicolon; 

16 (B) in subparagraph (E), by inserting 

17 ‘‘and vehicles’’ before the semicolon; 

18 (C) in subparagraph (H), by striking 

19 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

20 (D) in subparagraph (I)— 

21 (i) by striking ‘‘battery chargers,’’; 

22 and 

23 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

24 and inserting a semicolon; and 

25 (E) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(J) installation of electric vehicle supply 

2 equipment for recharging plug-in electric drive 

3 vehicles, including such equipment that is acces4 sible in rural and urban areas and in under5 served or disadvantaged communities and such 

6 equipment for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, 

7 including at depots and in-route locations; 

8 ‘‘(K) multi-use charging hubs used for 

9 multiple forms of transportation; 

10 ‘‘(L) medium- and heavy-duty vehicle 

11 smart charging management and refueling; 

12 ‘‘(M) battery recycling and secondary use, 

13 including for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(N) sharing of best practices, and tech16 nical assistance provided by the Department to 

17 public utilities commissions and utilities, for 

18 medium- and heavy-duty vehicle electrifica19 tion.’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (b)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (3)(A)(ii), by inserting ‘‘, 

22 components for such vehicles, and charging 

23 equipment for such vehicles’’ after ‘‘vehicles’’; 

24 and 


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1 (B) in paragraph (6), by striking 

2 ‘‘$90,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 

3 through 2012’’ and inserting ‘‘$2,000,000,000 

4 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2031’’; 

5 (3) in subsection (c)— 

6 (A) in the header, by striking ‘‘NEAR7 TERM’’ and inserting ‘‘LARGE-SCALE’’; and 

8 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking 

9 ‘‘$95,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 

10 through 2013’’ and inserting ‘‘$2,500,000,000 

11 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2031’’; 

12 and 

13 (4) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub14 section (e) and inserting after subsection (c) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(d) PRIORITY.—In providing grants under sub17 sections (b) and (c), the Secretary shall give priority con18 sideration to applications that contain a written assurance 

19 that all laborers and mechanics employed by contractors 

20 or subcontractors during construction, alteration, or re21 pair that is financed, in whole or in part, by a grant pro22 vided under this section shall be paid wages at rates not 

23 less than those prevailing on similar construction in the 

24 locality, as determined by the Secretary of Labor in ac25 cordance with sections 3141 through 3144, 3146, and 


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1 3147 of title 40, United States Code (and the Secretary 

2 of Labor shall, with respect to the labor standards de3 scribed in this clause, have the authority and functions 

4 set forth in Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 

5 (5 U.S.C. App.) and section 3145 of title 40, United 

6 States Code).’’. 

7 SEC. 5. STATE CONSIDERATION OF ELECTRIC VEHICLE 

8 CHARGING. 

9 (a) CONSIDERATION AND DETERMINATION RESPECT10 ING CERTAIN RATEMAKING STANDARDS.—Section 111(d) 

11 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 

12 U.S.C. 2621(d)) is further amended by adding at the end 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘(20) ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING PRO15 GRAMS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall con17 sider measures to promote greater electrifica18 tion of the transportation sector, including— 

19 ‘‘(i) authorizing measures to stimulate 

20 investment in and deployment of electric 

21 vehicle supply equipment and to foster the 

22 market for electric vehicle charging; 

23 ‘‘(ii) authorizing each electric utility 

24 of the State to recover from ratepayers any 

25 capital, operating expenditure, or other 


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1 costs of the electric utility relating to load 

2 management, programs, or investments as3 sociated with the integration of electric ve4 hicle supply equipment into the grid; and 

5 ‘‘(iii) allowing a person or agency that 

6 owns and operates an electric vehicle 

7 charging facility for the sole purpose of re8 charging an electric vehicle battery to be 

9 excluded from regulation as an electric 

10 utility pursuant to section 3(4) when mak11 ing electricity sales from the use of the 

12 electric vehicle charging facility, if such 

13 sales are the only sales of electricity made 

14 by the person or agency. 

15 ‘‘(B) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this 

16 paragraph, the term ‘electric vehicle supply 

17 equipment’ means conductors, including 

18 ungrounded, grounded, and equipment ground19 ing conductors, electric vehicle connectors, at20 tachment plugs, and all other fittings, devices, 

21 power outlets, or apparatuses installed specifi22 cally for the purpose of delivering energy to an 

23 electric vehicle.’’. 

24 (b) OBLIGATIONS TO CONSIDER AND DETERMINE.— 


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1 (1) TIME LIMITATIONS.—Section 112(b) of the 

2 Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 

3 U.S.C. 2622(b)) is amended by adding at the end 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(7)(A) Not later than 1 year after the date of 

6 enactment of this paragraph, each State regulatory 

7 authority (with respect to each electric utility for 

8 which it has ratemaking authority) and each non9 regulated electric utility shall commence the consid10 eration referred to in section 111, or set a hearing 

11 date for consideration, with respect to the standards 

12 established by paragraph (20) of section 111(d). 

13 ‘‘(B) Not later than 2 years after the date of 

14 the enactment of this paragraph, each State regu15 latory authority (with respect to each electric utility 

16 for which it has ratemaking authority), and each 

17 nonregulated electric utility, shall complete the con18 sideration, and shall make the determination, re19 ferred to in section 111 with respect to each stand20 ard established by paragraph (20) of section 

21 111(d).’’. 

22 (2) FAILURE TO COMPLY.—Section 112(c) of 

23 the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 

24 (16 U.S.C. 2622(c)) is amended by adding at the 

25 end the following: ‘‘In the case of the standard esVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 May 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1879.IH H1879

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1 tablished by paragraph (20) of section 111(d), the 

2 reference contained in this subsection to the date of 

3 enactment of this Act shall be deemed to be a ref4 erence to the date of enactment of that paragraph.’’. 

5 (3) PRIOR STATE ACTIONS.—Section 112 of the 

6 Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 

7 U.S.C. 2622) is amended by adding at the end the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(g) PRIOR STATE ACTIONS.—Subsections (b) and 

10 (c) of this section shall not apply to the standard estab11 lished by paragraph (20) of section 111(d) in the case of 

12 any electric utility in a State if, before the enactment of 

13 this subsection— 

14 ‘‘(1) the State has implemented for such utility 

15 the standard concerned (or a comparable standard); 

16 ‘‘(2) the State regulatory authority for such 

17 State or relevant nonregulated electric utility has 

18 conducted a proceeding to consider implementation 

19 of the standard concerned (or a comparable stand20 ard) for such utility; 

21 ‘‘(3) the State legislature has voted on the im22 plementation of such standard (or a comparable 

23 standard) for such utility; or 


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1 ‘‘(4) the State has taken action to implement 

2 incentives or other steps to strongly encourage the 

3 deployment of electric vehicles.’’. 

4 (4) PRIOR AND PENDING PROCEEDINGS.—Sec5 tion 124 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies 

6 Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2634) is amended by adding 

7 at the end the following: ‘‘In the case of the stand8 ard established by paragraph (20) of section 111(d), 

9 the reference contained in this section to the date of 

10 the enactment of this Act shall be deemed to be a 

11 reference to the date of enactment of such para12 graph (20).’’. 

Æ 


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