senate

GM suggests Congress fund EV charging, Toyota asks for hydrogen fueling support
John Voelcker January 30, 2018

It's now abundantly clear that Tesla has created the roadmap on how to build a widespread DC fast-charging network that lets electric-car drivers travel long distances, even across the country. The Tesla Supercharger network can only be used by Tesla cars, however—and it remains entirely unclear how, whether, or when other carmakers will be able to offer similar capabilities. Last Thursday, the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a "field hearing" at the Washington Auto Show, known for its focus on public policy that affects the auto industry. DON'T MISS: Europe...
Senate tax plan leaves electric-car purchase credit in place
The battle over early termination of the U.S. income-tax credit for purchase of an electric car took a new turn on Thursday. HR1, the draft Tax Cut and Jobs Act introduced in the House of Representatives, would end the credit as of December 31. The U.S. Senate version of the tax-reform bill...
John Voelcker November 13, 2017
Senate panel rejects clean-energy cuts, boosts DoE funding instead
The Senate Committee on Appropriations recently exhibited a quality somewhat rare in U.S. politics these days: bipartisanship. The committee released a lengthy report on the 2018 fiscal year budget for the Department of Energy that walks away from the Trump Administration's efforts to defund clean...
Sean Szymkowski August 14, 2017

The US Senate once had its own electric cars: two Studebakers that ran underground
One advantage of electric cars is that unlike gasoline or steam cars, they have no emissions. More than a century ago, that was why the U.S. Capitol acquired two custom-built electric cars, nicknamed "Tommy" and "Peggy." They were built by Studebaker, an early and hallowed U.S. car brand that...
John Voelcker June 18, 2017
U.S. Senate Votes Against Affirming Climate Science Validity
Would you trust a politician who believes the earth is flat? Or that the sun revolves around the earth? Or that the Holocaust never happened? No? Then what do we make of politicians who continue to deny the accepted scientific consensus that human activity is affecting the climate? DON'T MISS: U.S...
John Voelcker January 23, 2015
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 December 22, 2014
Which Members Of Congress Drive Plug-In Electric Vehicles?
John Voelcker August 22, 2012

Last week, President Barack Obama signed into law a bill that would allow the installation of electric-car charging stations in U.S. Capitol parking garages. That got us to wondering, how many U.S. Senators and Representatives actually drive plug-in cars? With the help of Juan Barnett, aka DCAutoGeek, and the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA), so far we've identified three. And, perhaps bucking stereotypes, they're not all Democrats either. Here's our list: Senator Lamar Alexander [R-TN] Alexander has driven a 2011 Nissan Leaf since just a couple of months after the first...
Senate To Get Electric-Car Charging Stations (No Tax Dollars Used)
Electric-car charging stations may be coming to the U.S. Senate garage, under a bill passed yesterday on a bipartisan basis. But fear not, zealous guardians of the sacred taxpayer dollar--no public funds will be used for the installation. Yesterday, S.739 was passed by the Senate. The bill had been...
John Voelcker May 25, 2012

Congress Actually Ends Taxpayer Funding Of Ethanol Subsidies
When the U.S. Congress adjourned for the holidays on Friday, December 23, its departure sealed the fate of subsidized ethanol production. During its session, the Congress did not renew a tax break for U.S. production of corn-based ethanol that had become increasingly unpopular across a wide area of...
John Voelcker December 27, 2011
Did U.S. Senate Cut Deal To End Ethanol Subsidies After All?
Almost three weeks ago, the U.S. Senate voted to end subsidies for production of ethanol, the alternative fuel that is largely refined from domestically-grown corn. At the time, conventional wisdom had it that this was a safe move. Because the subsidies were attached to a stalled economic...
John Voelcker July 7, 2011
U.S. Senate Votes To End Ethanol Subsidies; They'll Continue Anyhow
The once-unthinkable actually happened last Thursday: The U.S. Senate voted 73-27 to abolish a 45-cents-per-gallon subsidy to the U.S. ethanol industry. Immediately. Because the amendment to end ethanol credits is attached to a stalled economic development bill, however, it will have little...
John Voelcker June 20, 2011
Ethanol Wars: Farm Senators Want More E85 Flex-Fuel Cars By 2016
Let's be real: How many of you out there have ever driven a single mile on E85 ethanol fuel? Very, very, very few of you, most likely. The fuel composed of 85 percent ethanol blended with 15 percent gasoline is available only in a handful of Midwestern states. Yet a bill now under consideration by...
John Voelcker April 8, 2011
Senator Stabenow: $7,500 Electric-Car Credit Should Be Rebate
John Voelcker February 8, 2011

It's long been known that purchase rebates--buy a car, get a check--are a more effective incentive for purchase of any kind of car than an income-tax credit, which may take a year or more to affect the buyer's cash position. But the current tax credits for purchase of plug-in cars, up to $7,500 for battery packs of 16 kilowatt-hours or more, was enacted because it was simpler. It used a mechanism already in place to provide tax credits to purchasers of hybrid-electric cars, which had been scheduled to expire at the end of 2010. Yesterday, Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow introduced a bill...

Senate Energy Bill: $$$ for Natural-Gas Vehicles, EVs Get Less
If there's even a chance for the U.S. Congress to pass an energy bill this year, it's going to be a long and tortuous slog. But the first cut at legislation, introduced yesterday, offers $4 billion for infrastructure and subsidies for natural-gas vehicles (NGVs), but just a tenth of that for the...
John Voelcker July 28, 2010
Senate Panel Approves $3.6 Billion Funding For EV Infrastructure
The electric vehicle revolution took a major step towards becoming a reality with the Senate Energy Committee approving today a new $3.6 billion bill to support the development of plug-in electric vehicles through a series of deployment communities to be set up around the country. These...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran July 22, 2010
Top Clunker Buys Compared: Toyota Corolla vs Ford Focus vs Honda Civic
Thinking about trading in your clunker for a nice, new, fuel-efficient car? Take a breath; the first-week success of the Car Allowance Rebate Systems (CARS) program, better known as "Cash for Clunkers," looks to be continued at least through Labor Day. Last Friday, the US House of Representatives...
John Voelcker August 7, 2009
UPDATE: Senate, House Agree On Cash-For-Clunkers Terms
Late Tuesday night, we reported that the House had passed a bill by Rep. Betty Sutton (D-OH) to institute a "Cash for Clunkers" tax credit scheme. Now the Detroit News and other sources report that, just two days later, it appears the Senate and House have agreed to include $1 billion to fund the...
John Voelcker June 12, 2009