SEEC Welcomes Obama Administration Announcement to Deploy Advanced Technology Vehicles, Reduce Oil Use
WASHINGTON, DC - Today the House of Representatives Sustainable Energy & Environment Coalition (SEEC) praised the Obama Administration’s announced plans to deploy electric vehicles and infrastructure for federal agencies, and to move the federal government to 100 percent purchase of advanced energy vehicles by 2015. SEEC has been a staunch supporter of advanced technology vehicles, and has successfully fought for investments to deploy electric and alternative fuel vehicles in the federal fleet, and to boost domestic manufacturing of those technologies.
Following President Obama’s calls for reducing U.S. oil imports by one-third by 2025 and for putting one million advanced technology vehicles on the road by 2015, and following the 2009 Recovery Act that invested in federal, state and local government efforts to deploy electric and alternative fuel vehicles, the General Services Administration (GSA), Department of Energy (DOE), and White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) today announced the creation of the Electric Vehicle Pilot Program to deploy electric vehicles and infrastructure into the fleets of 20 federal agencies. These agencies also released a Presidential Memorandum which directs federal agencies to develop plans to move the government to 100 percent purchase of alternative fuel vehicles by 2015. In response to the announcement, the leaders of SEEC released the following statement:
“The Sustainable Energy & Environment Coalition commends the Obama Administration and all participating federal agencies for their efforts to deploy electric and alternative fuel vehicles. As the operator of the nation’s largest vehicle fleet, the federal government’s purchasing power can drive the widespread adoption of these vehicles, which will reduce America’s oil addiction and fuel costs, and decrease greenhouse gas and other air pollution, all the while growing American jobs and our economy by increasing domestic production of the vehicles of the twenty-first century.
“Just as importantly, the Electric Vehicle Pilot Program and related efforts will save Americans money in two different ways: By reducing the federal government’s fuel costs – a direct saving for taxpayers that promises to grow with the success of this program; and by reducing America’s oil demand, which is one of the chief drivers of climbing gasoline prices. SEEC commends the Obama Administration for its continued work to break the oil addiction that is so costly to Americans and jeopardizes our national security.”
In 2009, SEEC successfully fought to include investments in the Recovery Act to increase deployment of electric, hybrid electric, and alternative fuel vehicles. SEEC was also successful in including in that legislation investments in domestic advanced battery systems and components manufacturing, which has created jobs and helped to significantly expand America’s capacity to manufacture those technologies to support production of electric and hybrid electric vehicles. (More on what SEEC accomplished in the Recovery Act can be seen here.)
The GSA-DOE-CEQ announcement can be read here: https://energy.gov/news/10344.htm
The Presidential Memorandum can be read here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/05/24/presidential-memorandum-federal-fleet-performance
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The Sustainable Energy & Environment Coalition (SEEC) is a coalition of forty-eight Democratic members of the House of Representatives that was founded in January 2009 to be a focused, active, and effective caucus for advancing “policies that promote clean energy technology innovation and domestic manufacturing, develop renewable energy resources, and create green collar jobs throughout the product supply-chain, and polices to help arrest global warming and protect our nation’s clean air, water and natural environment.” SEEC is co-chaired by Reps. Jay Inslee (D-WA) and Steve Israel (D-NY). SEEC vice chairs are Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Jared Polis (D-CO), and Paul Tonko (D-NY).
https://www.house.gov/inslee/SEEC/