Representatives Gilbert R. Cisneros, Jr. (D-CA-39) and Francis Rooney (R-FL-19) introduced the Department of Defense (DOD) Non-Tactical Vehicle Reduced Petroleum Consumption Act. This bill directs the DOD to replace such vehicles—from passenger cars to construction vehicles such as bulldozers and forklifts—as they age with zero-emission vehicles.

The gradual procurement process minimizes extraneous costs to the Department and allows for the acquisition of electric vehicle charging stations on military installations in the United States and its territories.

Such steps would lessen DOD’s reliance on petroleum, thereby reducing fuel costs and improving non-tactical vehicle efficiency, while also shrinking the Department’s overall carbon footprint and negative impact on the environment.

The Department of Defense is the largest consumer of fuel in the country and maintains a sizable fleet of non-tactical vehicles on installations across the United States and its territories. While DOD has made progress in decreasing its petroleum fuel consumption, more can be done to reduce costs, improve efficiency and resilience to fuel shocks, and limit negative environmental impacts.

—Rep. Cisneros

America’s military has always been on the cutting edge of technological advancements and has been able to implement plans for efficiency. More energy efficient vehicles not only greatly help our environment by decreasing CO₂ emissions, but also reduce costs without impacting the ability of our men and women that defend our country to be successful.

—Rep. Rooney.

• Directing the Secretary of Defense to ensure that, to the extent technically practicable, vehicles removed from the non-tactical federal vehicle fleet at Department of Defense installations due to attrition will be replaced with zero-emission vehicles.

• The Secretary of Defense shall develop a report to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees on the feasibility of such a policy within one year after passing of this Act.

• Should the Department be unable to meet this goal and/or request exemptions for certain installations, the Secretary is required to outline the technical and practical reasons as to why the Department is unable to meet this goal and/or is seeking certain exemptions in this report.

• The Department of Defense is directed to decrease petroleum fuel consumption for federal fleets, with a goal of a 50% reduction in annual petroleum consumption as compared to a FY2005 baseline by 1 October 2030. (DoD has already achieved a 34.5% reduction in FY2017.)

• Should the Department be unable to meet this goal, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretaries of the Military Services, is required to develop a report to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees within one year outlining the technical and practical reasons as to why the Department is unable to meet this goal.