Short Term Accelerated Retirement of Inefficient Vehicles Act of 2009
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget. (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) S6262-6265)
Short Term Accelerated Retirement of Inefficient Vehicles Act of 2009 - Establishes in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) a Cash for Clunkers Temporary Vehicle Trade-In Program through which the Secretary of Transportation, acting through NHTSA, shall: (1) authorize the issuance of a voucher to offset the purchase or lease price for a fuel efficient automobile upon the transfer of the eligible trade-in vehicle title to a participating dealer; (2) register dealers for Program participation; (3) make payments to them for eligible transactions they accept between specified dates; and (4) establish and provide for the enforcement of measures to prevent and penalize fraud under the Program.
Prescribes requirements, including combined fuel economy, for $1,000, $2,500, $3,500, and $4,500 vouchers to offset the purchase or lease price for a previously owned (model year 2004 or after) or new fuel efficient 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 that each eligible trade-in vehicle: (1) has been or will be crushed or shredded, or transferred to an entity that will ensure it will be crushed or shredded, within the period of the Program; and (2) has not been, and will not be, sold, leased, exchanged, or otherwise disposed of for use as an automobile in the United States or in any other country.
Makes it unlawful for any person to 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.
Sets forth procedures for expedited congressional consideration of any proposed presidential rescission of discretionary budget authority under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on June 8, 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 June 8, 2009: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget. (text of measure as introduced: CR S6262-6265)
- 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?
Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) introduced it on June 8, 2009, and 3 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 2 Democrats, 1 Republican.
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 8, 2009, 6303 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 6303 days ago, on June 8, 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