§2501 Congressional findings and policy

Summary

Congress wants the country to cut back on using foreign oil because depending on it harms security, foreign policy, and the economy. Most oil is used for cars and trucks, so quickly adding electric and hybrid vehicles to the fleet would lower oil use. These vehicles can work well for city trips, many rural and farm uses, and they are more reliable now thanks to better motors, controls, and batteries. They save energy when stopped, can be charged during off-peak hours, make little noise or pollution, and shifting power to central plants makes pollution easier to control. Congress says a federal research, development, and demonstration program will help make this happen. The policy is to speed up research and testing of electric and hybrid cars, prove they can work and save money for city, commercial, and farm use, remove barriers so they can replace gasoline and diesel vehicles where practical, and encourage using them for many short trips and light-duty jobs.