Indianapolis — With President Bush announcing a deal on an auto rescue bridge loan today, Senator Evan Bayh is looking forward and called on Congress to include full funding of next-generation vehicles and battery components in the economic stimulus package slated for consideration in January.

“For a fraction of what the federal government has spent to bail out Wall Street, we can create the next generation of high-mileage vehicles, and Indiana can lead the way with cutting-edge technology being made right here within our borders,” Senator Bayh said. “Our state can help America move past Band-Aid solutions and help ensure the long-term viability of the domestic automobile industry.”

Bayh said that plug-in vehicles that use electricity to displace oil consumption will provide many benefits, including cleaner air, fewer greenhouse gas emissions, enhanced energy security, and cost savings from vehicle fueling, operation and maintenance.

At a news conference today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Bayh was joined by five representatives of leading Indiana companies on the cutting-edge of automotive innovation: EnerDel, Indy Power Systems, Altairnano, Remy International, and Bright Automotive.

In a letter sent this week to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitchell McConnell, Bayh and a dozen of his Senate colleagues called for investments in the economic stimulus package for advanced-battery manufacturing, energy storage research and development, plug-in vehicles and programs to electrify the American transportation sector, which would allow Americans to plug-in their cars at truck stops like a cellphone.

“It is a critical time for our country to make a serious push for electric transportation technologies as part of a comprehensive solution to decreasing our dependence on imported oil,” Bayh and his colleagues wrote. “These programs and the new technologies deployed as a result of these programs will also stimulate the economy and help build a globally competitive advanced technology vehicle workforce in the United States.”

Senator Bayh has been a national leader in the effort to devise long term, sustainable solutions to help create a viable American automobile industry in the long term. In 2007, he authored the DRIVE Act, several provisions of which were signed into law as part of the Energy Independence and Security Act. The Bayh provisions enacted include incentives for domestic manufacturers to refurbish their facilities to produce advanced technology vehicles, such as plug-in hybrids and advanced diesel vehicles, and a requirement for federal fleets to reduce their petroleum use by 20 percent by 2015.

Companies around the world are competing to be the first to bring affordable, high-mileage vehicles to the marketplace. On Monday, a Chinese car company, BYD, rolled out the world’s first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. It has an estimated range of 65 miles and costs $22,000.

“I have faith in the manufacturing ingenuity of Hoosiers to be able to compete head-to-head with companies around the world. We have been doing it for decades,” Senator Bayh said. “Hoosier companies will tell you that their technologies combined with government incentives will dramatically drive down price in the near-term. I believe it is important for the stimulus package to jump-start economic growth in a manner that also puts us on a glide path toward long-term economic stability and transformation.”

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