PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Mar 17, 2009
Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act of 2009 - Establishes in the Department of Transportation the Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save (CARS) Program.
Directs the Secretary of Transportation, for FY2009-FY2011, to: (1) encourage a dealer, dismantler, and scrap recycler to participate in the Program; (2) authorize the issuance of a redeemable voucher by a participating dealer to the registered owner of a high polluting automobile for the purchase of a new fuel efficient automobile upon transfer of the eligible automobile title to a participating dealer, dismantler, or scrap recycler; (3) require participating dealers to accept such vouchers as partial payment for the purchase of a new fuel efficient automobile; and (4) electronically transfer funds to a participating dealer upon receipt of a voucher and relevant certifications from the dealer.
Requires any dealer receiving a certificate of title to any eligible high polluting automobile in exchange for a CARS voucher to certify to the Secretary that: (1) such title has been retired or otherwise extinguished and not re-issued; and (2) the dealer has received from a dismantler or recycler a certification that such automobile, engine, and drive train will be crushed or shredded within a certain period, will be processed prior to crushing or shredding to ensure removal and appropriate disposition of specified products, and has not been, and will not be, registered, sold, leased, exchanged, distributed, or otherwise operated at any time as an automobile in the United States or in any foreign country.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Requires the Secretary to promulgate regulations that allow operators of bus and rail public transit systems to redeem the allowable value of properly issued vouchers to offset the purchase price of annual or monthly transit passes or any other form of individual transit fare credit designated by the transit system operator.
Sets forth civil penalties for violations of this Act.
Directs the Secretary, for model year 2011, to revise the Program to provide for the issuance of vouchers to offset the purchase of a new battery electric automobile or a new plug-in electric drive automobile.
People & committees
Rep. Sutton, Betty [D-OH-13] · D–OH
Legislative record
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Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment.
Referred to House Transportation and Infrastructure
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to House Energy and Commerce
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Aug 14, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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