congress
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The tax reform bill likely to be voted on by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives retained a number of provisions originally slated to be cut from the tax code. Among them was the federal income-tax credit for purchase of a plug-in electric vehicle. Three carmakers—General Motors, Nissan, and Tesla—have now used more than half the 200,000 full credits allowed to each electric-car maker before the credit starts to sunset. DON'T MISS: Electric-car tax credit retained in Congressional tax reform bill: confirmed The federal incentive is a credit taken against U.S. income...
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Electric-car tax credit retained in Congressional tax reform bill: confirmed (update)
We'll likely never know whether it was the influence of auto lobbyists, pressure from the actual public, or a letter signed by two dozen mayors. But however the sausage was made, it appears that the U.S. income-tax credit for purchase of a plug-in electric vehicle will not be killed after all...
John Voelcker -
22 mayors join letter urging electric-car tax credit retention by Congress
Two bills from the Senate and House of Representatives that would radically reform U.S. tax policy for the first time in three decades are now being reconciled by a joint committee from both houses of Congress. No public hearings on those bills have been held in either chamber, and the legislation...
John Voelcker -
If you plan to buy an electric car, you should do it this month
Common wisdom has it that the last few days of any calendar year are the best time to buy a car. Not only are franchised dealers and their salespeople seeking to close out the month with a bang, but it's the end of a year and their allocation of cars next year can depend on how many they sell this...
John Voelcker -
House approves bill to exempt self-driving cars from safety standards, overrule state laws
The United States House of Representatives has taken the first step towards allowing automakers and technology companies to deploy self-driving cars on public roads. A House panel passed a proposal that would allow automakers and other companies to deploy up to 100,000 self-driving vehicles...
Sean Szymkowski -
Advocacy group takes electric cars to Capitol Hill to inform lawmakers
The best way to change perceptions about electric cars is to put novices in the driver's seat—quite literally in this sense. The advocacy group Plug In America went to Capitol Hill recently, with a barrage of plug-in electric and pure battery electric vehicles, in an effort to educate...
Sean Szymkowski -
Since the election of Donald Trump, considerable attention has focused on how a candidate who campaigned on promoting fossil fuels would treat the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies charged with regulating those industries. But potential changes to the EPA do not come solely from the Executive Branch. Over the past few weeks, a bill that may give fossil-fuel producers undue influence on the EPA's Science Advisory Board has gained new momentum in Congress. DON'T MISS: Trump's EPA deletes 'science' from Science Office mission statement HR 1431—also known as the EPA...
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Bill to cap ethanol in U.S. fuel supply gains momentum
A House bill aims to cap the amount of ethanol blended with the U.S. fuel supply.
Stephen Edelstein -
Congressmen question EPA over VW funds for electric-car charging
Two Congressmen join the chorus criticizing Volkswagen funds for electric-car charging.
Stephen Edelstein -
New House bill seeks to limit ethanol in gasoline to current usage
A new House bill would cap levels of ethanol blended with gasoline.
Stephen Edelstein -
Obama Proposes $10 Per Barrel Tax On Oil To Fund U.S. Transportation Needs
You have to give the man credit for vision. U.S. president Barack Obama will propose a tax of $10 per barrel on oil in the 2017 budget he will submit to Congress next week. According to the White House, its goal is to create "a clear incentive for private-sector innovation to reduce our reliance on...
John Voelcker -
Final Transportation Bill: Electric-Car Fans Get MORE Reasons To Rejoice (UPDATED)
A recently-passed transportation bill includes several measures supporting electric cars.
Stephen Edelstein -
A new budget bill cuts EPA funding, but leaves Obama's Clean Power Plan intact.
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Natural-Gas Vehicles To Get Electric-Car Tax Credit In Transportation Bill?
The House transportation bill includes provisions benefiting natural-gas vehicles.
Stephen Edelstein -
Senator: NHTSA Should Rescind Fuel-Economy Credits For Illegal VW Diesels
A U.S. senator recently called on the NHTSA to rescind fuel-economy credits VW previously received for its diesel cars.
Stephen Edelstein -
Senate Group Pushes EPA To Add More Biodiesel In Renewal Fuel Standard
A bipartisan group of 36 Senators wants the EPA to require more biodiesel to be mixed into the fuel supply.
Stephen Edelstein -
Bills To Kill Renewable Fuel Law, Ban E15 Ethanol Fuel Likely Doomed
The addition of ethanol to gasoline has now been a political hot potato in the U.S. for more than a decade. Joined by cosponsors from both sides of the aisle, U.S. Representative Bob Goodlatte [R-VA] introduced two bills in February that together would eliminate the Renewable Fuels Act passed in...
John Voelcker -
What Future For Coal In The U.S.: Slow Decline Or Faster Retreat?
Coal could remain a significant energy source for decades to come, a new report says.
Stephen Edelstein -
Anew bill would discard a mandate requiring larger volumes of ethanol be added to the U.S. fuel supply.
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Tax Credit For Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Vehicles Expires As Congress Adjourns
Congress lets a tax credit for hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles expire.
Stephen Edelstein -
EPA Power Plant Carbon Regulations Late, Hostile Congress Likely To Fight Them
The EPA regulations limiting the amount of carbon that can be emitted by existing powerplants may be the most crucial step forward in environmental policy made by the eight-year Obama Administration. But those regulations will apparently be late in arriving for public comment--and they face a...
John Voelcker -
Tax Breaks Back For Electric-Car Charging Stations, Natural-Gas Cars, Through End Of Year
It's the end of another Congressional session, which means that a budget extension bill has now been rushed through and is likely to be signed. Called The Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 (H.R. 5771), it contains special provisions, rule tweaks, and concessions for many, many, many different...
John Voelcker -
Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Vehicle Tax Credit Expires This Month: Will It Be Renewed?
Financial and other incentives are widely viewed as a good way to kickstart the adoption of new green vehicles, largely to compensate for their higher prices against conventional gasoline cars. But just as Toyota is building up to next fall's launch of its 2016 Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle in...
John Voelcker -
EPA Resets Ethanol Rules To Reflect Reality: Cellulosic Sources Don't Exist
For many months now, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has faced a dilemma: What to do about its rules that millions of gallons of cellulosic ethanol be blended into the U.S. gasoline supply. Now, The Detroit News reports that the agency has decided to accept reality: Supplies of that fuel...
John Voelcker