PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.

Heavy Duty Hybrid Vehicle Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 2011

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Official summary

Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · May 10, 2011

Heavy Duty Hybrid Vehicle Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to establish a competitive program to provide between three and seven grants of up to $3 million in each of three years to advance research and development and to demonstrate technologies, including plug-in hybrid technology, for advanced heavy duty hybrid vehicles (vehicles with a gross weight between 14,000 and 33,000 pounds that are fueled, in part, by a rechargeable energy storage system). Requires grant recipients to: (1) conduct research and demonstrate advanced hybrid technology by producing or retrofitting advanced heavy duty hybrid vehicles, and (2) demonstrate advanced manufacturing processes and technologies by producing or retrofitting 50 advanced heavy duty hybrid vehicles.

Requires the Secretary: (1) to conduct research into alternative power train designs for use in advanced heavy duty hybrid vehicles; and (2) acting through the Department of Energy's (DOE) National Laboratories and Technology Centers, to establish a pilot program to research and test the effects on the domestic electric power grid of the widespread use of plug-in hybrid vehicles, including those that are advanced heavy duty hybrid vehicles.

Amends the United States Energy Storage Competitiveness Act of 2007 to direct the Secretary to conduct an applied research program on energy storage systems to support vehicles with a gross weight over 16,000 pounds.

Read the summary on Congress.gov
PlainBill analysis is coming later. This page presents official source data. We have not yet published a PlainBill explanation for this bill.

Who introduced it

Sen. Collins, Susan M. [R-ME] · R–ME

Committees

  • Energy and Natural Resources Committee
2 cosponsorship records, including any withdrawals

Actions

A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.

  1. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

  2. Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S2841)

  3. Introduced in Senate

Bill text & related measures

Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.

Related bills identified by Congress.gov

Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.

Explore the bill from different angles

Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.

Neutral evidence review

Objective

Analyze S.938 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.

View full prompt & sources
Fairness and public impact

Progressive lens

Examine S.938 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.

View full prompt & sources
Institutions and government scope

Conservative lens

Examine S.938 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.

View full prompt & sources
Individual rights and government power

Liberty lens

Examine S.938 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.

View full prompt & sources