This was a vote on an amendment by Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) that would have increased funding by $46 million for the Vehicle Technologies program, which funds the development of fuel efficient technologies. At the same time, the amendment would have cut$99 million from federal subsidies for oil and gas companies. This amendment was offered to legislation providing annual funding for Energy Department programs and the Army Corps of Engineers in fiscal year 2012.

Connolly urged support for his amendment: “The Vehicle Technologies program is a critical part of our efforts to revive American manufacturing and the automobile industry. It is a job generator….The Vehicle Technologies program is a success story in boosting domestic manufacturing of cleaner cars that save consumers money at the pump. It is reducing the cost of advanced lithium ion batteries, which are in all hybrid vehicles on the road in America. This program has helped deploy 48 battery manufacturing projects all across the United States with the goal of reducing hybrid vehicle engine costs by 35 percent. Hybrid vehicles are an important part of our domestic manufacturing base and provide direct quality of life benefits in suburban regions with high levels of smog pollution, such as here in the nation's capital. The Advanced Vehicle Technologies program also is helping to deploy electric vehicles, including the new Chevy Volt.”

Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) opposed Connolly’s amendment: “Let's be frank. Fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas, generate 70 percent of our Nation's electricity, and we will use these valuable energy sources for many generations. We must ensure that we use those resources, of course, as efficiently and cleanly as possible….There is a proper role for the core Energy Efficiency and Renewable programs [which include the Vehicle Technologies program], and the bill preserves funding for those activities while cutting out activities that are redundant with the private sector or that intervene improperly in market innovation.”

The House rejected Connolly’s amendment by a vote of 173-249. Voting “yea” were 163 Democrats—including a majority of progressives—and 10 Republicans. 226 Republicans and 23 Democrats voted “nay.” As a result, the House rejected an amendment that would have increased funding by $46 million for the Vehicle Technologies program, and also would have cut $99 million from federal subsidies for oil and gas companies.