Green Transportation Efficiency Act of 2009
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (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) S6554-6556)
Green Transportation Efficiency Act of 2009 - Establishes in the Department of Energy (DOE) a Green Transportation Efficiency Program through which the Secretary of Energy shall: (1) authorize issuance of an electronic voucher to offset the purchase or lease price for a new fuel efficient automobile or motorcycle upon the surrender to a participating dealer of an eligible trade-in vehicle; (2) certify dealers for Program participation; (3) make electronic payments to them for vouchers they accept between January 1, 2009, and three years after implementing regulations are promulgated; (4) provide for the payment of rebates to qualifying persons; and (5) establish enforcement of measures to prevent and penalize fraud under the Program.
Prescribes requirements, including combined fuel economy, for $2,500, $3,500, and $4,500 vouchers to offset the purchase or lease price for a qualifying passenger automobile, truck, or motorcycle.
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 it 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. Declares that such restrictions shall not prevent a person who dismantles or disposes of such vehicle from selling any of its parts (except the engine block and drive train, unless they have been crushed or shredded) and retaining sale proceeds.
Makes any person who purchased or leased a new fuel efficient vehicle after January 1, 2009, and before the enactment of this Act eligible for a cash rebate equivalent to the appropriate voucher amount.
The summary continues for 3 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
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 11, 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 11, 2009: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S6554-6556)
- 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?
Bob Casey (D-PA) introduced it on June 11, 2009. No cosponsors are recorded.
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 11, 2009, 6300 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 6300 days ago, on June 11, 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