senate


Cash for Clunkers lives on: Senate passes $2B refill of popular program

Cash for Clunkers lives on. The Senate passed a $2 billion extension late tonight with a vote of 60/37, giving customers the opportunity to purchase about 500,000 more vehicles through the program. The Obama administration estimates that most or all of the original $1 billion was spent in a matter of only ten days and it's expected the additional $2 billion will only last through Labor Day. Before voting on the bill, several amendments to the program were shot down. One amendment, which sought to relegate the program only to lower and ... Read more →

Transportation Secretary LaHood calls for September 'distracted driving' summit? Chris Shunk

A recent study from Virginia Tech showed that texting while driving makes you 23 times more likely to get into a crash and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is looking to address the problem ...

REPORT: Toyota Corolla passes Ford Focus as top C4C car; program extended thru September Jonny Lieberman

The more things change, the more they change back again. Or something. As of August 3, Reuters reports that the number one car Cash for Clunking consumers were purchasing was the long-in-the-tooth ...

REPORT: D.O.T. withholding Cash For Clunkers info; Senate warming to more funding Sebastian Blanco

Another day, another bunch of news items about Cash For Clunkers (a.k.a. C.A.R.S.). With Friday's Senate recess date fast approaching, the Obama Administration is reportedly pushing the body's 100 ...

Senators mulling a nationwide ban on texting while driving Jonathon Ramsey

Last time we checked in with the issue of texting while driving, the NHTSA practically claimed it was gagged by Congress. Fast forward a week -- after the New York Times report and the results of ...

Cash for Clunkers passes Congress, awaits President's signature 5 months ago on Autoblog

After narrowly surviving an attempt by Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H. to strip it from a war-spending bill, the Cash for Clunkers program passed the Senate yesterday evening. Well, the $106 billion war-spending bill passed the Senate on a 91-5 vote, but the $1 billion scrapping program earlier survived ...

Senate saves Cash for Clunkers, remains in war-spending bill 5 months ago on Autoblog

Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives just voted in favor of a war-spending bill that contains the hotly debated Cash for Clunkers amendment. The bill was on its way to the Senate for a vote, but Republican Senator Judd Gregg tried to get the Cash for Clunkers program stripped from the bill ...

House narrowly passes scaled-back 'Cash-for-Clunkers' legislation 5 months ago on Autoblog

After the House and Senate agreed on the terms of a cut-down version of the Cash for Clunkers legislation, it passed the house on Tuesday by a narrow margin (226-202) after being added as a supplemental appropriations bill to continue funding the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Per the previous ...

BREAKING: House, Senate reach terms on 'Cash for Clunkers' program - but only with $1B in funding 5 months ago on Autoblog

According to The Detroit News, the House and Senate came to terms late last night on a $1 billion 'cash for clunkers' initiative. Part of a larger $106 billion wartime spending bill, the program is not yet law, as the finalized bill must be passed by Congress (it is expected to be voted on next ...

Auto Task Force says no more money for auto bailouts... probably 5 months ago on Autoblog

To date, the U.S. government has reportedly given General Motors, Chrysler, their financial institutions and various industry suppliers about $80 billion in taxpayer money, and Congress wants to know when we're going to get that money back. The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee ...

BREAKING: House passes 'cash for clunkers' legislation 5 months ago on Autoblog

The U.S. House approved the "cash for clunkers" legislation earlier today, paving the way for consumers to snag up to $4,500 for trading in their older vehicles for new, more fuel efficient transport. The bill, which passed 298-119, drew overwhelming support from automakers, local business groups ...

Senate to vote on 'Cash for Clunkers' today? 6 months ago on Autoblog

A vote could come today on a bill designed to offer credits of up to $4,500 for consumers to trade-in gas-guzzling older vehicles. The so-called "cash for clunkers" legislation is designed to stimulate auto sales, but it also stands to effectively remove gross polluters from the roads and put ...

GM and Chrysler CEOs called to D.C. to explain dealer closings 6 months ago on Autoblog

The situations with GM and Chrysler are beginning to look like what happens after a fumble in an NFL game: a dozen men pile on top of each other all trying to get the ball. The difference in the case of GM and Chrysler is there are far more than two teams struggling for the prize. The latest to hop ...

Repercussions of failed automaker bailout spreading quickly 11 months ago on Autoblog

Nekkei index plumments, GM retains the services of bankruptcy advisors Late Thursday evening, the U.S. automaker bailout bill failed to pass through the Senate. The legislation is dead and there are no plans for another bill to go through the process until the end of the year. To quote Senate ...

BREAKING: Automaker bailout agreement reached in Senate, still not a sure thing [UPDATE] 1 year ago on Autoblog

CNBC is reporting that four U.S. senators have reached a bipartisan agreement on a bill to help the Big 3 automakers in Detroit. Those senators include Michigan Democrats Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, Ohio Republican George Voinovich and Missouri Republican Christopher Bond. Details of the bill ...

The Skinny: Automaker aid from the Feds 1 year ago on Autoblog

So here's a breakdown of what's going on in Congress concerning federal aid for U.S. automakers. A Senate bill expected to be voted on this Thursday would expedite funds for Ford, GM and Chrysler so that they could actually get the cash they need within 22 days after the bill becomes law -- should ...

Senator calls for 50-mpg mandate for Detroit to receive aid 1 year ago on Autoblog

"Thick and fast." That's the phrase that describes the opinions, pleas, advice, denunciations, and WTF? going on around the U.S. auto industry right now. Enter Congress, which is trying to figure out how to give Detroit automakers the $25 billion they were promised a few months ago. Congressmen are ...

Two down, one to go: Senate approves $25 billion for Big 3 1 year ago on Autoblog

Last week, the House of Representatives passed a bill approving a $25 billion loan for the Detroit 3. Now the Senate, by a similar margin, has passed the bill, which means it needs George W. Bush's John Hancock in order for the automakers to see their funds. The process actually began last year when ...

Senate passes legislation including PHEV tax credits 1 year ago on Autoblog

Legislation that includes tax credits for plug-in electric vehicles has passed the Senate. Now the House gets a chance to look things over and put it to a vote. The tax credits allow buyers of PHEVs to receive a credit as high as $7,500 and as low as $2,500 depending on the capacity of the ...

California law proposes ban on lap pets in car 1 year ago on Autoblog

Drivers give in to a lot of distractions behind the wheel. Phone calls, eating, drinking, and slapping the kids around are one thing, but something that's always irked us is drivers traveling with pets on their laps. Aside from the possibility of Fluffy freaking out and doing its doggone best to ...

It's just a bill, that can't get passed: Senate fails to move energy bill forward 1 year ago on Autoblog

Despite being passed by the House of Representatives yesterday by a 235 to 181 margin, the new energy bill reached the Senate floor this morning and failed to muster enough votes to move on to the White House, where the President has threatened a veto of it in its current state. The Senate vote was ...

New fuel economy standards set 35 mpg limit by 2020 2 years ago on Autoblog

The word yesterday was that new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards were on their way down from Capitol Hill, and late last night House leaders finally agreed to a deal that would increase fuel economy standards to 35 mpg by 2020 – a 40-percent increase over the current decades-old ...

House drops revised fuel economy standards 2 years ago on Autoblog

Yesterday, House Democrats withdrew two amendments to an energy bill in the House that would increase fuel economy standards significantly over the next 12 years. The bill, which is slated for debate this week, included a proposed increase in fuel mileage by close to 40-percent for both cars and ...

BREAKING: Senators reach agreement on CAFE standards 2 years ago on Autoblog

As our colleagues over at AutoblogGreen note, with all the lobbying going on this week for and against tougher fuel economy standards, it's been tough following who's for what and what's good for whom. Regardless, the debate came to end late yesterday when the Senate agreed to a portion of the new ...

Counterstrike: Senators offer compromise to prevent CAFE mileage hike 2 years ago on Autoblog

Michigan Senators Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin, who have been lobbying on behalf of automakers to reign in some of the stricter CAFE proposals being debated this month as part of the larger energy bill, have just offered a new compromise. They made the offer to Dianne Feinstein, a California ...

The molasses thickens: House delays vote on fuel bill 2 years ago on Autoblog

Between all of the folks sponsoring and counter-sponsoring legislation to raise/lower/maintain CAFE standards, even Autoblog is losing track. The latest news is that a hearing to approve the most recent bill, sponsored by House Reps Rick Boucher (D-VA) and John Dingell (D-MI), has been canceled ...

Representatives aiming to block states from deciding greenhouse limits 2 years ago on Autoblog

Just you watch, before it's all through, the automotive/greenhouse gas/environmental legislation and counter-legislation moving through Congress right now is not going to be decided by vote, but by a cage match. First, the Supreme Court ruled the EPA had the power to regulate emissions. California ...

Worse or Worser: Automakers consider new mpg standard to prevent Senate bill 2 years ago on Autoblog

In the Wild West, the order would have been "Cut them off at the pass!" For carmakers today battling with wildly fluctuating forecasts for mpg, CO2, and CAFE standards, the mission is to cut them off at the Capital. Taking matters upon themselves, some manufacturers are considering a proposal that ...

Senate panel approves plan for 35mpg by 2020 2 years ago on Autoblog

A Senate panel has approved a plan to increase CAFE standards to 35 mpg by 2020, with a 4% increase every year until 2030. That's almost 40% higher than today's standard for cars, which is 27.5 mpg . Currently, vans and trucks must get at least 22.2 mpg. This bill, however, has a long, long, long ...

California to ban smoking in cars with kids 3 years ago on Autoblog

Senators in California are close to passing a bill that would prohibit smoking in vehicles carrying children who are required by law to ride in a child seat. The bill proposed by Assemblyman Paul Koretz (D-West Hollywood) recently received a 23-14 vote that sent it back to the Assembly, and with our ...

The political winds may be shifting in Detroit 3 years ago on Autoblog

The political alliances in the Motor City have historically been rather black-and-white, with the UAW lining up alongside Democrats and management favoring the Republicans. Yes, one can find exception to these stereotypes, but the above comes as close as one can to describing 40-some years of voting ...

Senators harp on Detroit for not providing better fuel economy, push for tougher CAFE standards 3 years ago on Autoblog

Four US Senators took to the microphone yesterday to accuse Detroit of "stonewalling" and "getting into a bunker mentality" when it comes to providing vehicles with better fuel economy. Dianne Feinstein, Dick Durbin, Olympia Snowe, and Lincoln Chafee are sponsoring a bill they call "Ten in ...

Alternative Fuels Act introduced in Congress 3 years ago on Autoblog

Senators Barack Obama (D-IL) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) introduced the American Fuels Act of 2006 to the U.S. Senate last week, a bill designed to promote bio and alternative fuels in the hopes of reducing the nation’s dependence on foreign oil. The bill includes some interesting ideas, ...






Autoblog Podcast #155: 'Twas the night before LA...

Chris, Dan, and Editor Paukert go over some LA Preview action and quietly whoop it up on the podcast.

 
 

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