LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION urging the New York State Congressional deleg-
ation to commit to a clean transportation future through supporting the
commercialization of advanced vehicles driven by hydrogen fuel cell
technology as an integral component of an overall alternative vehicle
deployment strategy designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lower
dependency on petroleum and create jobs for New Yorkers

WHEREAS, Volatile oil prices continue to pose severe economic hardships
for U.S. households and industry; and
WHEREAS, Gasoline-fueled vehicles consume nearly three-quarters of the
petroleum used in the U.S. and account for one-third of the country's
greenhouse gas emissions; and
WHEREAS, Vehicles fueled by alternative fuels such as hydrogen fuel
cells have substantially smaller carbon footprints than vehicles powered
by gasoline; and
WHEREAS, Hydrogen is the most abundant element on earth, available
from diverse sources including renewable sources, and can offer an
unlimited supply of fuel, once released from substances that bind it,
such as water or biomass; and
WHEREAS, The development and promotion of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles
in the United States can help ensure long-term economic viability of the
industry and support environmentally responsible fuel production and
transportation systems that strive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
and
WHEREAS, The federal government has provided substantial incentives to
develop, produce and deploy battery-powered and electric vehicles, the
U.S.'s alternative vehicle market will also have to be responsive to
consumer demands for vehicles that can be refueled quickly, provide
family-sized functionality and have a mileage range similar to
combustion engine vehicles; and
WHEREAS, Major foreign and domestic automobile manufacturers including
GM, Daimler, Hyundai, Honda, and Toyota, have publicly announced their
intention to commercially market new product lines that are fueled by
hydrogen by 2015 and 2016; and
WHEREAS, Countries that adopt policies to encourage the development
and early deployment of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and related fueling
infrastructure will gain competitive advantage in the market to produce
such vehicles, revitalizing the auto industry within their borders; and
WHEREAS, The remaining challenges to the commercial success of hydro-
gen fuel cell vehicles can only be addressed through market-based learn-
ing cycles with customers driving such vehicles in real conditions; and
WHEREAS, It is essential that federal energy policy efforts be
directed to facilitate collaboration among local, state and federal
governments, hydrogen fuel providers, infrastructure contractors, auto-
makers, service stations, and consumers as well as other industry and
financial stakeholders to facilitate such market-based learning cycles;
and
WHEREAS, Germany, Japan, Korea and other European countries have
invested hundreds of millions of dollars and entered into agreements
with major automobile makers to deploy hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and
build-out infrastructure to support fueling of such vehicles; and
WHEREAS, Continued federal investment coupled with a strong U.S. poli-
cy commitment to improve and integrate hydrogen fuel cell technologies
would give American businesses more options to cut energy costs and
reduce petroleum use, as well as increase American domestic energy
resulting in increased energy security; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the New York State Congressional delegation be and
hereby is respectfully memorialized by this Legislative Body to commit
to achieving a clean transportation future based on the rapid commer-
cialization of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies by providing neces-
sary federal funds in the form of tax incentives, tax credits and grants
for fuel cell vehicles, hydrogen fuels and infrastructure development
and deployment to accelerate the commercialization of hydrogen and fuel
cell vehicles, and ensure that appropriate federal funding be provided
to support those activities in New York; and be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to each member of the Congressional delegation from the State of
New York, the United States Secretary of Energy, the United States
Secretary of Transportation, and the Administrator of the United States
Environmental Protection Agency.