United States Motor Fuel Independence Act of 1979
Latest action. Referred to Senate Committee on Finance.
United States Motor Fuel Independence Act of 1979 - Amends the Clean Air Act to exempt industrial hydrocarbons and alcohols used in any fuel from the fuel registration and limitation on distribution requirements of such Act. Directs the Secretary of Energy to provide information to the public concerning alcohol fuels, including information on loans for production of such fuels and construction of alcohol fuel plants and technical and nontechnical information. Amends the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, to make grants to educational, governmental, and nongovernmental institutions for research into the production and marketing of: (1) specified coal derivatives for the manufacture of agricultural chemicals, methanol, methyl fuel, and alcohol-blended motor fuel; and (2) alcohol and other industrial hydrocarbons made from agricultural commodities and forest products. Requires that special emphasis be placed on research into new and undeveloped crops suitable for conversion to alcohol fuels, human and animal consumption of digestible byproducts of alcohol production, and reduction of nitrous oxide emissions from combustion of alcohol fuels. Increases from four to 35 the number of pilot projects for the production of alcohols and industrial hydrocarbons from agricultural commodities and forest products for which the Secretary may guarantee loans. Eliminates specified conditions placed upon such guaranteed loans. Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to permit all or any part of the acreage set aside from the production of any commodity to be devoted to the production of any commodity for conversion into industrial hydrocarbons and to authorize the Secretary to establish a program for such commodity production in the event there is no set-aside or diversion of acreage during any particular year. Directs the Secretary of Energy to submit to the Congress a comprehensive list of all private, State, or Federal loans, grants, incentives, rebates and other financial benefits which can or have been used for alcohol and alcohol-blended fuel research, facility construction, and production. Amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 to provide an additional ten percent investment tax credit for alcohol fuel production and property. Revises definitions of qualified alcohol fuel property, buildings and structural components used in alcohol fuel production, qualified alcohol fuel expenditures, and applicable percentage available for such credits. Amends the Energy Tax Act of 1978 to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to make payments to any State which adopts a fuel tax reduction on the sale of alcohol-blended fuel in the amount that such State's fuel tax receipts have been reduced resulting from such tax reduction. Eliminates the requirement that only sales of alcohol fuels taking place before October 1, 1984, shall be exempt from motor fuels excise taxes. Amends the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act of 1973 to require that the mandatory allocation program be structured so as to result in the allocation of crude oil and refined petroleum products to refineries and other persons engaged in alcohol fuel production or marketing in amounts sufficient to meet the demands for such fuel. Amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to issue operating permits for distilled spirit plants established solely for producing and otherwise handling distilled spirits exclusively for fuel use. Sets forth requirements for issuing such permits and makes various amendments to such Act concerning distilled spirits for fuel use.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on July 26, 1979. 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 July 26, 1979: Referred to Senate Committee on Finance.
- 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 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 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?
JAMES MCCLURE (R-ID) introduced it on July 26, 1979, and 3 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 1 Democrat, 2 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 July 26, 1979, 17213 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17213 days ago, on July 26, 1979.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers