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Read Letters of Support From General
Motors, Toyota,
Natural Resources
Defense Council
Wyden, Cox Unveil Legislation to Make
Hydrogen Fuel Vehicles a Marketable Alternative within 10 Years
Bipartisan bill would establish tax
incentives to encourage purchase of hydrogen vehicles, creation
of fuel and construction of fueling stations
February 11, 2003
Washington (February 11,
2003) – Legislation unveiled today by U.S. Senator Ron
Wyden (D-Ore.) and U.S. Representative Christopher Cox (R-Calif.)
seeks to make hydrogen powered vehicles marketable alternatives
for consumers within the next 10 years. Unlike other legislation
that dedicates funding for research and development of hydrogen
fuel cars, the Wyden-Cox H2GROW Act (Hydrogen Transportation
Wins Over Growing Reliance on Oil) only provides Federal funding
for actions that put vehicles on the road, produce hydrogen
fuel for vehicles or fueling infrastructure. The legislation
would implement a mix of tax incentives and tax holidays to
dramatically improve the market and infrastructure for hydrogen
fuel and the vehicles it powers. At a news conference announcing
their joint effort, Wyden and Cox were joined by representatives
of General Motors, Toyota and the Natural Resources Defense
Council who supported the legislation as a strong move toward
reducing dependence on foreign oil while improving the environment.
"This is the first bipartisan
proposal that brings together environmentalists and the industry
to get America moving under hydrogen power in the next decade,"
said Wyden. "Our bill will provide concrete rewards for
everyone who takes steps to put hydrogen fuel cell cars on the
road and reduce our dependence on foreign oil."
"Commercially available
hydrogen-powered cars will soon be a reality, but consumers
will not buy them until they are confident that they can refuel
on America's road and highways," Chairman Cox said. "It's
the classic 'chicken and egg' problem. The automakers have never
been in the gasoline business, and have expressed no interest
in the hydrogen business. But without widely available refueling
stations, no one will buy hydrogen-fueled cars."
By 2012, the H2GROW Act seeks
to reduce reliance on 30 million barrels of foreign oil a year
by dramatically increasing the prevalence of hydrogen powered
vehicles, prototypes of which are being developed by major automobile
manufactures. The bill focuses on helping fuel cell vehicles
become a viable alternative to traditional gasoline powered
vehicles by offering incentives to get more of the vehicles
on the road, increase production of hydrogen fuel and create
the infrastructure throughout the country to guarantee accessibility
to hydrogen fuel.
"The performance-based
incentives established by H2 GROW are designed to ensure that
fuel cell vehicles get out of the laboratory and onto the highway,"
said Dan Lashoff, science director for the NRDC climate center.
"America needs a comprehensive strategy to break the chain
of oil dependence that compromises our environment and our security.
The H2 GROW Act is a key component of that strategy."
The H2GROW Act seeks to dramatically
increase the number of fuel cell vehicles on the road over the
next decade by providing tax credits for the retail purchase
of fuel cell-powered vehicles. The bill would allow a maximum
tax credit of 25 percent of the sale price of a hydrogen powered
vehicle with a cap of $50,000; the tax credit steadily decreases
each year to a five percent credit and $10,000 cap in 2012.
The bill also mandates that hydrogen powered vehicles must comprise
a minimum percentage of federal fleets, from five percent for
fleets of 100 vehicles or more in 2006 to 50 percent for fleets
of 50 vehicles or more in 2012.
"The tax incentives proposed
by Sen. Wyden and Rep. Cox will play an important role in fostering
the market for this amazing new technology," Christine
Sloan, director of the GM FreedomCAR and Advanced Technology
Planning, said at the news conference. "As with many new
technologies, the cost of the first fuel cell vehicles will
be higher than conventional cars and trucks. The Wyden/Cox bill
is an important component in an equation that will soon lead
to radically cleaner and more efficient vehicles for Americans."
In addition to helping create
a market for the vehicles and make them more affordable, the
bill focuses on developing the hydrogen fuel infrastructure
necessary to reliably power the vehicles. To make hydrogen fuel
readily accessible, the H2GROW Act establishes tax credits for
the retail sale, production and use of hydrogen fuel. The bill
also provides tax incentives to taxpayers who install hydrogen
refueling equipment in their homes, companies that manufacture
and sell hydrogen refueling equipment, clean fuel refueling
properties and purchasers for hydrogen fuel cells intended to
be expanded for hydrogen vehicle refueling.
"Toyota applauds Senator
Wyden and Representative Cox for their bipartisan, bicameral
efforts in support of an idea that is a win-win for society,"
said Charles Ing, corporate legislative affairs manager, Toyota
Motor North America. "Movement to a hydrogen economy will
help provide energy security for our nation and protection for
our environment. This is an important step on the long road
to bringing fuel cell vehicles to mass market."
Unlike traditional gasoline
powered vehicles, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles produce no harmful
emissions. Water is the only byproduct produced when hydrogen
fuel is used to power a vehicle. As a result, hydrogen powered
vehicles have been touted as an environmentally-sensible alternative
that can reduce air pollution and help reduce global warming.
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