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Washington, Jul 31 -

After the success of the Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act (CARS), or Cash for Clunkers, reportedly exhausted its funding after less than one week, Rep. Bill Foster (IL-14) voted to allocate an additional $2 billion to the initiative. The bill passed by a bipartisan vote of 316-109, with 2 people voting present.

“This initiative has proven to be an enormous success, and it makes sense to provide additional funding to allow Cash for Clunkers to benefit more families and automobile dealers in the 14^th District,” said Foster.  “The positive consequences of this bill are threefold; it stimulates the economy by putting money directly into the pockets of middle-class families, it provides a boost to the struggling auto industry, and by taking old, energy inefficient cars off the road, it improves our environment and reduces our dependence on imported oil.”

According to the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, in only one week, Cash for Clunkers has resulted in over 200,000 purchases, and nearly two thirds of all sales have qualified for the higher mpg, $4,500 voucher.

The House passed measure is fully paid for, as it gives President Obama the authority to transfer $2 billion in previously appropriated stimulus funding to the Cash for Clunkers program.

The original program was passed earlier in the month, and offers consumers a rebate of $3,500 or $4,500 when they trade in their old, fuel inefficient vehicles to purchase a new fuel efficient vehicle. For more information about the Cash for Clunkers program, please visit http://www.cars.gov/index.php/faq .