The head of the Electrification Coalition says he is confident that a proposal to incentivize electric vehicles will pass Congress next year as part of a narrow energy bill.
The coalition, a coalition of business groups that advocates for policies that support electric vehicles, has been lobbying for passage of a bill authored by Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) that would “extend and expand national incentives to accelerate the introduction of electric cars and trucks throughout the country,” according to Dorgan’s office.
The bill passed the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in July and was included in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) slimmed-down energy bill. But the bill failed to move before the August recess. Senate aides say Reid is hoping to move an energy bill either in the lame-duck session or early next year. President Obama lent his supportto the effort in a Rolling Stone interview published on the web yesterday. In an interview with The Washington Independent, Robbie Diamond, president of the Electrification Coalition, said, “It’s a low percentage chance that things get done in the lame-duck session, but we’re incredibly optimistic that something can get done at the beginning of the next congress.”
Diamond said the electric vehicle bill will likely be included in a slimmed-down energy bill with other proposals that have won bipartisan support. “If you watch all the signs, gigantic, comprehensive bills are not in vogue at the moment. I think it could be coupled with one or two other bipartisan, important energy proposals,” he said.