Congressman John Larson, D-CT, picked up key support from the Blue Dog Coalition in his efforts to put more natural gas vehicles on the road.
The Blue Dog Coalition – a group of moderate Democrats in U.S. Congress – on Tuesday threw its support behind the NAT GAS Act, which is Larson’s attempt to incentivize automakers to build electric cars and for commercial fleet operators to buy them.
Larson has pushed the legislation in one form or another since 2008 but never gained the necessary support for it to become law. Before the Blue Dogs joined in the effort, the NAT GAS Act had 104 Democratic co-sponsors and 77 Republican co-sponsors, plus the support of President Barack Obama and Speaker of the House John Boehner.
The Blue Dogs have 26 members.
“Promoting natural gas fueled vehicles is a win-win-win; consumers will have less pain at the pump, America will become less dependent on foreign oil and will see more energy jobs and a cleaner environment,” said Congressman Jim Matheson,D-UT, chair of the Blue Dog Energy Task Force, in a press release.
While passage in the House of Representatives still isn’t guaranteed, Larson already started working with members of the U.S. Senate to craft identical legislation in that chamber for speedier passage.
