Please help me on why this is a good thing?

Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., introduced two amendments to the fuel-efficiency bill passed Tuesday that would create biofuel standards and allocate $50 million a year for the next five years toward research and development of advanced battery technology.

The bill is expected to benefit the auto industry in Delaware and the rest of the nation because it will provide more investment in battery technology needed to operate electric vehicles and the next generation of “plug-in” hybrids.

I’ll say it again…I’m not smart so I need help trying to understand the logic being espouced by Biden, Carper and Castle on this one.  I’m going to give it my best shot though

Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t foreign competition supposed to force domestic companies to go ahead and create products that are better without my tax money?  Isn’t that what competition is supposed to do?  So, why is the government handing out $50 million to US Auto companies that haven’t done shit to forward fuel conservation since, well EVER!!?  I’m really struggling to see what this is besides a handout and a blatant attempt to get someone to set up shop in De again. 

Lesson learned though, fall behind the competition, refuse to create a product the market needs, refuse to create a product that will benefit consumers, get tens of millions of dollars from the government for your own Research and Development.  Sweeeeeeeetttttttt!