Senate Democrats Unveil Wide-Ranging Energy Bill

Last week, the Senate Democrats unveiled a wide-ranging energy bill, titled the American Energy Innovation Act. The bill incorporates many of the Democratic-sponsored energy bills that were not included in Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Murkowski’s energy bill, the Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015.  The 437-page bill includes several sections pertaining to alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles.

The Democratic bill does not have a chance of passage in the Republican-controlled Congress, but it will serve as a starting point in negotiations on amendments to the Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015 and it provides an indicator of what is to come if the Democrats take over the Senate in 2016.

Sections of the bill would incentivize the manufacture of advanced technology vehicles that reduce motor fuel consumption, improve fuel efficiency and emission, and create a grant program to improve freight efficiency.

The bill’s full text is available here.