[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3266 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3266
To require Congress and Federal departments and agencies to reduce the
annual consumption of gasoline of the Federal Government.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 15, 2008
Mr. Warner introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require Congress and Federal departments and agencies to reduce the
annual consumption of gasoline of the Federal Government.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Immediate Steps to Conserve Gasoline
Act''.
SEC. 2. FEDERAL CONSERVATION OF GASOLINE.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) each day, as Americans contend with rising gasoline
prices, personal stories reflect the ways in which Americans
are altering their family budgets, including food budgets, to
cope with record high gasoline costs;
(2) as a consequence of economic pressures, Americans are
taking initiatives to reduce consumption of gasoline, such as--
(A) driving less frequently;
(B) altering daily routines; and
(C) changing, or even cancelling, family vacation
plans;
(3) the conservation efforts being taken by Americans, on
their own initiative, bring hardships but save funds that can
be redirected--
(A) to meet essential family needs; and
(B) to relieve, to some extent, the demand for
gasoline;
(4) just as individuals are taking initiatives to reduce
gasoline consumption, the Federal Government, including
Congress, should take initiatives to conserve gasoline;
(5) such Government-wide initiatives to conserve gasoline
would send a signal to Americans that the Federal Government--
(A) recognizes the burdens imposed by unprecedented
gasoline costs; and
(B) will participate in activities to reduce
gasoline consumption;
(6) an overall reduction of gasoline consumption by the
Federal Government by even 3 percentage points would send a
strong signal that, as a nation, the United States is working
to conserve energy;
(7) in 2005, policies directed at reducing the usage of
energy in Federal agency and department buildings by 20 percent
by 2015, at a rate of a 2-percent reduction per calendar year,
were enacted by the President and Congress;
(8) in 2007, policies increasing the energy reduction goal
to 30 percent by 2015, at a rate of a 3-percent reduction per
calendar year, were enacted by the President and Congress; and
(9) Congress and the President should extend the precedent
of those mandatory conservation initiatives taken in 2005 and
2007 to usage by the Federal Government of gasoline.
(b) Reduction of Gasoline Usage by Federal Departments and
Agencies.--For fiscal year 2009, each Federal department and agency
shall develop and carry out initiatives to reduce by not less than 3
percent the annual consumption of gasoline by the department or agency.
(c) Congressional Conservation of Gasoline.--For fiscal year 2009,
Congress shall develop and carry out initiatives to reduce by not less
than 3 percent the annual consumption of gasoline by Congress.
SEC. 3. STUDIES AND REPORTS ON NATIONAL SPEED LIMIT AND FUTURE GASOLINE
CONSERVATION.
(a) National Speed Limit.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Energy
Information Administration shall conduct, and submit to
Congress a report describing the results of, a study of the
potential transportation fuel savings of imposing a national
speed limit on highways on the Interstate System of 60 miles
per hour.
(2) Inclusions.--The study under paragraph (1) shall
include--
(A) an examination of the fuel efficiency of
automobiles in use as of the date on which the study is
conducted;
(B) a description of the range at which those
automobiles are most fuel-efficient on highways on the
Interstate System;
(C) an analysis of actions carried out by the
Federal Government, with the full support of Congress,
during the 1973-1974 energy crisis, resulting in a
national speed limit on highways on the Interstate
System of 55 miles per hour, which remained in effect
until 1995;
(D) a recognition that in 1974, when fewer than
137,000,000 cars traveled in the United States (as
compared to 250,000,000 cars in 2006) and only 30
percent of United States oil was imported from foreign
sources (as compared to 60 percent of oil so imported
on the date of enactment of this Act), 167,000 barrels
of oil per day were saved by the imposition of a
national speed limit, such that greater savings are
possible on the date of enactment of this Act than the
savings realized in 1974; and
(E) a determination of whether a limitation on the
national speed limit on highways on the Interstate
System similar to the limitation described in
subparagraph (C) could serve as a model to generate
gasoline savings, through a national speed limit on
highways on the Interstate System of 60 miles per hour,
given the improved fuel efficiency of automobile
engines in use on the date of enactment of this Act.
(b) Future Gasoline Conservation.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United
States shall conduct, and submit to the Committees on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs, Environment and Public
Works, and Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the
Committees on House Administration, Transportation and
Infrastructure, and Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives a report describing the results of, a study to
determine whether additional gasoline reduction measures by
Federal departments and agencies and Congress are technically
feasible.
(2) Inclusion.--The report under paragraph (1) shall
include a proposed schedule of future gasoline reduction
measures, if the measures are determined to be technically
feasible.
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