Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017

Floor Speech

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Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Chairman, on May 24, 2011, President Obama issued a memorandum on Federal fleet performance that required all new light- duty vehicles in the Federal fleet to be alternative fuel vehicles, such as hybrid, electric, natural gas, or biofuel.

My amendment echoes the President's memorandum by prohibiting funds in this act from being used to lease or purchase new light-duty vehicles unless that purchase is made in accord with the President's memorandum.

I have submitted identical language to 20 different appropriations bills over the past few years, and every time it has been accepted by both the majority and the minority. I hope my amendment will receive similar support today.

Global oil prices are down. We no longer pay $147 per barrel. But spikes in oil prices would still have profound repercussions for our economy. The primary reason is that our cars and trucks run only on petroleum. We can change that with alternative technologies that exist today.

The Federal Government operates the largest fleet of light-duty vehicles in America, over 640,000 vehicles. More than 55,000 of those vehicles are within the jurisdiction of this bill, being used by the Department of Energy, the Department of the Interior, and the Army Corps of Engineers.

When I was in Brazil a few years ago, I saw how they diversified their fuel use. People there can drive to a gasoline station and choose whether to fill their vehicle with gasoline or ethanol. They make their choice based on cost or whatever criteria they deem important.

I want the same choice for American consumers. That is why I am proposing a bill in Congress, as I have done many times in the past, which will provide for cars built in America to be able to run on a fuel instead of or in addition to gasoline. It is less than $100 per vehicle. That is a separate issue, but I raise it because it is in conjunction with what I am proposing here. If they can do it in Brazil, we can do it here.

So, in conclusion, expanding the role these alternative technologies play in our transportation economy will help break the leverage that foreign government-controlled oil companies hold over Americans. It will increase our Nation's domestic security and protect consumers.

Again, I have submitted this in different appropriations bills through the years, and it has always passed unanimously by both Democrats and Republicans. I hope it will be the same.

I ask that my colleagues support the Engel amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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