Drive America Forward Act of 2009
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. (text of measure as introduced: continuing resolutionA stopgap law funding the government at existing levels when the annual appropriations bills are not done by October 1.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) S5841-5843)
Drive America Forward Act of 2009 - Establishes in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) a Drive America Forward Program through which the Secretary of Transportation shall: (1) authorize the issuance of an electronic voucher to offset the purchase or lease price for a new fuel efficient automobile upon the surrender of an eligible trade-in vehicle to a participating dealer; (2) certify dealers for Program participation; (3) make electronic payments to them for vouchers they accept between March 30, 2009, and one year after Program implementing regulations are promulgated; (4) provide for the payment of rebates to qualifying persons; and (5) establish and provide for the enforcement of measures to prevent and penalize fraud under the Program.
Prescribes requirements, including combined fuel economy, for $3,500 and $4,500 vouchers to offset the purchase or lease price for a qualifying passenger automobile or truck.
Limits the number of vouchers to one per customer, including joint registered owners of a single eligible trade-in vehicle.
Requires a dealer to certify about each eligible trade-in vehicle that the dealer: (1) has not and will not sell, lease, exchange, or otherwise dispose of the vehicle for use as an automobile in the United States or in any other country; and (2) will transfer the vehicle to an entity that will ensure that the vehicle will be crushed or shredded within the Program period, and has not been, and will not be, sold, leased, exchanged, or otherwise disposed of for use as an automobile anywhere in the world.
Makes any person who purchased or leased a new fuel efficient vehicle after March 30, 2009, and before the enactment of this Act eligible for a cash rebate equivalent to the appropriate voucher amount.
Prescribes standards which any regulations issued by the Secretary for the Program must meet. Makes it unlawful for any person to knowingly violate this Act or any regulations issued under it, particularly by fraud. Prescribes civil penalties for any such violation. Directs the Secretary to make Program information available on an Internet website and through other means.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on May 21, 2009. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on May 21, 2009: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. (text of measure as introduced: CR S5841-5843)
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
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 111th Congress (2009-10), 383 of the 10,778 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.6 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, 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?
Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) introduced it on May 21, 2009, and 10 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 6 Democrats, 3 Republicans, 1 independent.
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 May 21, 2009, 6321 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 6321 days ago, on May 21, 2009.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 111th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2011 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
- SenateIntroduced, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers