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Twenty US Senators recently sent a letter to Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman and Office of Management and Budget Director Jim Nussle asking that the President’s 2009 budget request include funding for electric vehicle technology initiatives that Congress has authorized. The letter specifically calls for funding for the development and promotion of Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) and advanced mobile and stationary batteries.

Specifically, we hope the President will request at least $250 million in funding for PHEVs and related electrification measures, including $150 million for advanced mobile and stationary batteries, $40 million for light- and heavy-duty electric vehicle demonstrations, $20 million in PHEV analysis, system modeling, and grid analysis, $5 million for PHEV testing and certification, and $35 million for education, research, development, and deployment efforts. These levels are currently allowable under existing authorizations.

As you may know, 97 percent of our nation’s transportation sector is dependent on oil. The electrification of our transportation sector through PHEVs and other measures holds the promise of significantly reducing our nation’s dependence on oil, while saving consumers hundreds of dollars at the pump and reducing vehicular pollution and greenhouse gases. A financial commitment from the federal government is vital if we are to see PHEVs on the road over the next few years.

Several provisions for the electrification of the nation’s transportation sector were signed into law as part of the Energy Bill (H.R.6), including:

Incentives for domestic manufacturers to refurbish their facilities to produce advanced technology vehicles, such as PHEVs and advanced diesel vehicles;

A requirement for federal fleets to reduce their petroleum use by 20 percent by 2015;

Provisions that allow federal agencies to purchase electric-drive vehicles; and,

The creation of a Department of Energy research and development program to improve vehicle fuel efficiency through the use of lightweight materials like high-strength steel alloys and advanced carbon composites.

The letter to Bodman and Nussle was signed by Senators Evan Bayh (D-IN), Joseph Biden (D-DE), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Sam Brownback (R-KS), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Robert Casey (D-PA), Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), Norm Coleman (R-MN), Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), John F. Kerry (D-MA), Herb Kohl (D-WI), Carl Levin (D-MI), Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Dick Lugar (R-IN), Barack Obama (D-IL), Ken Salazar (D-CO), Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI).