The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“THE PLUG-IN HYBRID OPPORTUNITY ACT OF 2007” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Energy was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1480 on July 10, 2007.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE PLUG-IN HYBRID OPPORTUNITY ACT OF 2007
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HON. EDWARD J. MARKEY
of massachusetts
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Mr. MARKEY. Madam Speaker, the goals of achieving energy independence and reducing our global warming pollution cannot be adequately addressed without a transformation in our transportation sector. This sector lies at the nexus of the twin problems of our energy dependence and global warming. Two-thirds of the oil we consume every day goes into the transportation sector. After Congress mandated a doubling of fuel economy standards from 13.5 to 27.5 miles per gallon, our dependence on foreign oil went from 46.5% in 1977 to 27% in 1985. But since then our fuel economy standards have been stuck in neutral or even reverse and our dependence on imported oil has climbed to 60%.
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) have the potential. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles represent a technology that can significantly address these problems. While the transportation sector is powered mostly by oil, the nation-wide electricity grid is only 3% petroleum-
fueled according to the Energy Information Administration. Wide use of PHEVs can help transfer petroleum-intensive driving miles to nearly petroleum-free electricity. According to the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, if the cars, trucks and SUVs on the road were replaced by PHEVs, 84% could be powered using existing electrical generation infrastructure. This same paper found that replacing our Light-Duty Fleet with plug-in hybrids could reduce our oil consumption by 6.5 million barrels per day and our emission of heat-trapping gasses by 27%.
PHEV technology is beginning to become available and some automakers have produced prototypes and are beginning to announce long-term plans to manufacture plug-in hybrids. However, technology already exists making it possible to convert the roughly 1 million hybrid vehicles that will be on the road this year into plug-in hybrids, capable of getting 150 miles per gallon. This conversion would allow existing hybrids to begin traveling between 20 and 60 miles on a single charge, while using very little gasoline.
With initial conversion costs ranging from $6,000 to $9,500 depending on the size of the battery, the ``Plug-in Hybrid Opportunity Act of 2007'' would provide consumers with a vital tax incentive of 35% of the cost of conversion, cap the potential credit at $4,000 and expire after 3 years. It is essential that these conversions be included under the plug-in hybrid tax credit, after meeting all the appropriate safety and environmental testing certifications, so that we can begin reducing our dependence on foreign oil and global warming pollution by realizing the benefits of plug-in hybrids now.
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