WASHINGTON - The House and Senate are considering bills that would help ease the use of electric cars, the Associated Press reports. The proposals would provide tax credits to people who purchase electric cars and would give localities grants to fund the building of support infrastructure.

The measures would ease the arrival of electric vehicles that will appear in dealerships this fall. Fans of the electric car project that 700,000 vehicles could be on the road within the next few years.

The bills would lead to "broad-based deployment of electric vehicles in this country," said Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-SD), a main sponsor of the Senate version, which has a $10 billion price tag.

Currently the federal government has a few programs designed to increase the number of cars using some or no gasoline, including a federal tax credit of up to $7,500 for buying an electric vehicle and up to $25 billion in loans for companies developing alternative fuel technologies.

The Senate version would allow up to 15 cities and municipalities to try securing grants (up to $250 million) from the U.S. Department of Energy to build such support, such as public recharging stations. The House bill would allow five localities to receive up to $800 million in grants.

In addition, the House bill would give up to a $2,000 credit for owners of electric cars to purchase and install charging equipment. The Senate version would allow people to obtain an additional $2,500 credit for buying an electric vehicle.