Renewable Fuels Act of 2005
Latest action. Executive Comment Requested from USDA.
Renewable Fuels Act of 2005 - Amends the Clean Air Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a program to require U.S. motor vehicle fuel to contain a certain volume of renewable fuel. Defines "renewable fuel" to include cellulosic biomass ethanol, waste derived ethanol, and biodiesel. Establishes a system of: (1) tradeable credits for motor vehicle fuel containing more renewable fuel than required; (2) waivers for states and small refineries; and (3) safe harbor standards to protect manufacturers of renewable fuels from civil liability.
Amends the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to require federal agency heads to ensure that ethanol-blended gasoline and biodiesel-blended diesel fuel are purchased for agency vehicles in areas where such fuel is available at competitive prices.
Amends the Clean Air Act to eliminate the oxygen content requirement for reformulated gasoline.
Requires the Administrator: (1) to establish standards for toxic air pollutants from the use of reformulated gasoline; and (2) within 30 days of enactment of this Act, to determine the adequacy of any petition from a state governor to exempt gasoline sold in the state from certain requirements for reformulated gasoline.
Directs the Administrator (currently, discretionary) to require fuel manufacturers to conduct tests to determine potential public health and environmental effects of fuels and fuel additives prior to registering such fuels.
Permits states in the ozone transport region to opt into the reformulated gasoline program.
Requires the Administrator, at the request of a state, to enforce state controls on fuel and fuel additives.
Sets forth various data collection and reporting requirements.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on June 28, 2005. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Executive Comment Requested from USDA.
Civibrief does not map this action to a stage in the process. See the official record.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
The latest action on file does not map to a stage Civibrief recognizes, so the page will not name one. The record's own words are the reliable fact here.
The record's latest action, on July 12, 2005: Executive Comment Requested from USDA.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 109th Congress (2005-06), 482 of the 10,701 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.5 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one has no outstanding steps listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
GIL GUTKNECHT (R-MN) introduced it on June 28, 2005, and 25 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 10 Democrats, 15 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 28, 2005, 7791 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 7777 days ago, on July 12, 2005.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 109th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2007 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseExecutive Comment Requested from USDA.
- SenateNot stated in the latest action
- PresidentNot stated in the latest action