II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1055 

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

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 29, 2007 

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

to the Committee on Finance 

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, demonstra10 tion, and commercialization of a wide range of elecVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:25 Apr 04, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1055.IS S1055

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1 tric drive components, systems, and vehicles using 

2 diverse electric drive transportation technologies; 

3 (2) to make critical public investments to help 

4 private industry, institutions of higher education, 

5 National Laboratories, and research institutions to 

6 expand innovation, industrial growth, and jobs in the 

7 United States; 

8 (3) to expand the availability of the existing 

9 electric infrastructure for fueling light duty trans10 portation and other on-road and nonroad vehicles 

11 that are using petroleum and are mobile sources of 

12 emissions— 

13 (A) including the more than 3,000,000 re14 ported units (such as electric forklifts, golf 

15 carts, and similar nonroad vehicles) in use on 

16 the date of enactment of this Act; and 

17 (B) with the goal of enhancing the energy 

18 security of the United States, reduce depend19 ence on imported oil, and reduce emissions 

20 through the expansion of grid-supported mobil21 ity; 

22 (4) to accelerate the widespread commercializa23 tion of all types of electric drive vehicle technology 

24 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 the 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, in18 cluding battery electric vehicles, fuel cell 

19 vehicles, engine dominant hybrid electric 

20 vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, 

21 plug-in hybrid fuel cell vehicles, and elec22 tric rail; or 

23 (B) equipment relating to transportation 

24 or mobile sources of air pollution that uses an 

25 electric motor to replace an internal combustion 


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1 engine for all or part of the work of the equip2 ment, including corded electric equipment 

3 linked to transportation or mobile sources of air 

4 pollution. 

5 (3) ENGINE DOMINANT HYBRID ELECTRIC VE6 HICLE.—The term ‘‘engine dominant hybrid electric 

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

8 (A) is propelled by an internal combustion 

9 engine or heat engine using— 

10 (i) any combustible fuel; and 

11 (ii) an on-board, rechargeable storage 

12 device; and 

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

14 source of electricity. 

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

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

17 uses a fuel cell (as defined in section 803 of the En18 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16152)). 

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

20 the Advanced Battery Initiative established by the 

21 Secretary under subsection (f)(1). 

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

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

24 216 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7550). 


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

2 term ‘‘plug-in hybrid electric vehicle’’ means an on3 road or nonroad vehicle that is propelled by an inter4 nal combustion engine or heat engine using— 

5 (A) any combustible fuel; 

6 (B) an on-board, rechargeable storage de7 vice; and 

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

9 of electricity. 

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

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

12 onroad or nonroad vehicle that is propelled by a fuel 

13 cell using— 

14 (A) any compatible fuel; 

15 (B) an on-board, rechargeable storage de16 vice; and 

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

18 of electricity. 

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

20 Alliance’’ means the entity selected by the Secretary 

21 under subsection (f)(2). 

22 (10) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

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

24 meaning given the term in section 2 of the Energy 

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


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

2 means the Secretary of Energy. 

3 (c) GOALS.—The goals of the electric drive transpor4 tation technology program established under subsection 

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

6 institutions of higher education, projects that focus on— 

7 (1) innovative electric drive technology devel8 oped in the United States; 

9 (2) growth of employment in the United States 

10 in electric drive design and manufacturing; 

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

12 through fleet demonstrations; and 

13 (4) acceleration of fuel cell commercialization 

14 through comprehensive development and commer15 cialization of battery technology systems independent 

16 of fundamental fuel cell vehicle technology develop17 ment. 

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

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

20 to enter into an arrangement with the National Academy 

21 of Sciences— 

22 (1) to conduct an assessment (in cooperation 

23 with industry, standards development organizations, 

24 and other entities, as appropriate), of state-of-theVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:25 Apr 04, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1055.IS S1055

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1 art battery technologies with potential application 

2 for electric drive transportation; 

3 (2) to identify knowledge gaps in the scientific 

4 and technological bases of battery manufacture and 

5 use; 

6 (3) to identify fundamental research areas that 

7 would likely have a significant impact on the devel8 opment of superior battery technologies for electric 

9 drive vehicle applications; and 

10 (4) to recommend steps to the Secretary to ac11 celerate the development of battery technologies for 

12 electric drive transportation. 

13 (e) PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall conduct a pro14 gram of research, development, demonstration, and com15 mercial application for electric drive transportation tech16 nology, including— 

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

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

19 charging components; 

20 (3) high-powered drive train systems for pas21 senger and commercial vehicles and for nonroad 

22 equipment; 

23 (4) control system development and power train 

24 development and integration for plug-in hybrid elecVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:25 Apr 04, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1055.IS S1055

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1 tric vehicles, plug-in hybrid fuel cell vehicles, and en2 gine dominant hybrid electric vehicles, including— 

3 (A) development of efficient cooling sys4 tems; 

5 (B) analysis and development of control 

6 systems that minimize the emissions profile 

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

8 hybrid drive system; and 

9 (C) development of different control sys10 tems that optimize for different goals, includ11 ing— 

12 (i) battery life; 

13 (ii) reduction of petroleum consump14 tion; and 

15 (iii) green house gas reduction; 

16 (5) nanomaterial technology applied to both 

17 battery and fuel cell systems; 

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

19 evaluation of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in dif20 ferent applications with different batteries and con21 trol systems, including— 

22 (A) military applications; 

23 (B) mass market passenger and light-duty 

24 truck applications; 

25 (C) private fleet applications; and 


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

2 (7) a nationwide education strategy for electric 

3 drive transportation technologies providing sec4 ondary and high school teaching materials and sup5 port for education offered by institutions of higher 

6 education that is focused on electric drive system 

7 and component engineering; 

8 (8) development, in consultation with the Ad9 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, 

10 of procedures for testing and certification of criteria 

11 pollutants, fuel economy, and petroleum use for 

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

13 including consideration of— 

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

15 just an engine; and 

16 (B) nightly off-board charging; and 

17 (9) advancement of battery and corded electric 

18 transportation technologies in mobile source applica19 tions by— 

20 (A) improvement in battery, drive train, 

21 and control system technologies; and 

22 (B) working with industry and the Admin23 istrator of the Environmental Protection Agen24 cy— 


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1 (i) to understand and inventory mar2 kets; and 

3 (ii) to identify and implement methods 

4 of removing barriers for existing and 

5 emerging applications. 

6 (f) ADVANCED BATTERY INITIATIVE.— 

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

8 and carry out an Advanced Battery Initiative in ac9 cordance with this subsection to support research, 

10 development, demonstration, and commercial appli11 cation of battery technologies. 

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

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

14 Secretary shall competitively select an Industry Alli15 ance to represent participants who are private, for16 profit firms headquartered in the United States, the 

17 primary business of which is the manufacturing of 

18 batteries. 

19 (3) RESEARCH.— 

20 (A) GRANTS.—The Secretary shall carry 

21 out research activities of the Initiative through 

22 competitively-awarded grants to— 

23 (i) researchers, including Industry Al24 liance participants; 

25 (ii) small businesses; 


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1 (iii) National Laboratories; and 

2 (iv) institutions of higher education. 

3 (B) INDUSTRY ALLIANCE.—The Secretary 

4 shall annually solicit from the Industry Alli5 ance— 

6 (i) comments to identify advanced 

7 battery technology needs relevant to elec8 tric drive technology; 

9 (ii) an assessment of the progress of 

10 research activities of the Initiative; and 

11 (iii) assistance in annually updating 

12 advanced battery technology roadmaps. 

13 (4) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.—The infor14 mation and roadmaps developed under this sub15 section shall be available to the public. 

16 (5) PREFERENCE.—In making awards under 

17 this subsection, the Secretary shall give preference 

18 to participants in the Industry Alliance. 

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

20 Secretary shall require cost sharing in accordance with 

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

22 16352). 

23 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

24 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

25 $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 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 30B(c)(3)(A) of the In5 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 (defining new advanced lean 

6 burn technology motor vehicle credit) is amended— 

7 (1) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (ii), 

8 and 

9 (2) by striking clause (iv). 

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

11 this section shall apply to property purchased after the 

12 date of the enactment of this Act. 

13 SEC. 4. BIODIESEL STANDARDS. 

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

15 is amended— 

16 (1) by redesignating the first subsection (r) (re17 lating to the definition of the term ‘‘manufacturer’’) 

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

19 appear after subsection (s); and 

20 (2) by inserting after subsection (o) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(p) BIODIESEL STANDARDS.— 

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

24 ‘‘(A) BIODIESEL.— 

25 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘bio26 diesel’ means the monoalkyl esters of long 


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1 chain fatty acids derived from plant or ani2 mal matter that meet— 

3 ‘‘(I) the registration require4 ments for fuels and fuel additives es5 tablished by the Environmental Pro6 tection Agency under section 211 of 

7 the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545); 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(II) the requirements of the 

10 American Society of Testing and Ma11 terials D6751. 

12 ‘‘(ii) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘bio13 diesel’ includes esters described in sub14 paragraph (A) derived from— 

15 ‘‘(I) animal waste, including 

16 poultry fat, poultry waste, and other 

17 waste material; and 

18 ‘‘(II) municipal solid waste, 

19 sludge, and oil derived from waste20 water or the treatment of wastewater. 

21 ‘‘(B) BIODIESEL BLEND.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘bio23 diesel blend’ means a mixture of biodiesel 

24 and diesel fuel (as defined in section 


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1 4083(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

2 1986). 

3 ‘‘(ii) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘bio4 diesel blend’ includes— 

5 ‘‘(I) a blend of biodiesel and die6 sel fuel approximately 5 percent of the 

7 content of which is biodiesel (com8 monly known as ‘B5’); and 

9 ‘‘(II) a blend of biodiesel and die10 sel fuel approximately 20 percent of 

11 the content of which is biodiesel (com12 monly known as ‘B20’). 

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

14 after the date of enactment of the American Auto15 mobile Industry Promotion Act of 2007, the Admin16 istrator shall promulgate regulations to establish 

17 standards for each biodiesel blend that is sold or in18 troduced into commerce in the United States.’’. 

Æ 


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