You Can’t Drive THAT Car!
Congress took on the environmental activists as House leadership declared this week “Energy Week.” Many of the bills that came to the floor for a vote were energy-related such as ones denouncing the Biden administration’s harmful energy policies and disapproving of a national carbon tax. However, the Biden administration tried to upstage the House’s sensible actions by finalizing new tailpipe emissions standards that will drive up the cost and drive down the availability of gas-powered cars.
To the cheers of Earthjustice, the Environmental Defense Fund, and other climate extremists, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the final rule on vehicle emissions with the goal of having 68% of cars and light trucks be “plug-in electric” by 2032. Last year, only 16% of car sales were electric or hybrid.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed this rule last year to require automobile manufacturers to transform a majority of their fleet into electric vehicles in the next 8 years or face billions of dollars in fines. The manufacturers complained that carrying out these tasks would be impossible. Upon finalization of this rule, car makers called the rule “ambitious,” “challenging,” and “aggressive.” At the same time, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, the association “committed to a cleaner, safer and smarter personal transportation future” boasts, “The future is electric. Automakers are committed to the EV transition.”
But Americans simply do not want to be forced into electric vehicles. As Diana Furchtgott-Roth stated in Forbes, “despite generous tax credits for manufacturers for plants to build the electric vehicles and batteries, and tax credits for Americans to buy EVs, Americans are not purchasing the vehicles in sufficient quantities to make the proposed rules attainable.”
Not to mention the high demand for electric vehicle chargers and batteries that can only be manufactured at that speed in places like China.
Besides the heavy burden on businesses, Americans will feel the costs in other ways as well. Progressive Insurance highlighted the stark differences in insurance and maintenance costs for electric vehicles. They said:
Insurance costs for EVs and hybrid cars can be higher than for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles largely because they can be more expensive to repair and replace. For example, a new EV battery ranges between $4,000 and $20,000 depending on the make and model of your EV, compared to $100-200 for an ICE car battery. If the battery of an EV is damaged in an accident, that’s a significantly more expensive replacement cost.
Before the rule was final, the House and Senate quickly passed a resolution (S.J. Res. 11) condemning these actions by the EPA, but the President vetoed the legislation. Then, House Republicans responded by passing the Preserving Choice in Vehicles Purchases Act (H.R. 1435) that would repeal the EPA’s regulations that severely limited vehicle choice. Democrats stood down this time by voting against the measure. After passing with only eight Democrats, the bill has been stuck in the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works since last September.
Earlier this month, the President released his budget which contained tens of billions of dollars for electric vehicles, charging stations, and hybrid jets. A smaller amount weaseled its way into the House appropriations bill to the tune of $190 million for battery and electrification technologies for vehicles. On the other hand, appropriators outweighed this negotiation by allocating $865 million for Fossil Energy. Under the Biden administration, any amount incentivizing their agenda to strip the American people of their consumer choice is unacceptable.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) had sharp criticism this week for the new EPA rule:
President Biden needs to abandon his crusade against American energy and gas-powered vehicles. Today’s rule will limit consumer choices and raise costs on American families who are already struggling from crippling inflation and high car payments. The President’s rule is going to devastate auto manufacturers who are already having a hard time selling electric vehicles all while undermining our national security by forcing us to rely more on Communist China for rare-earth minerals. More regulations and higher costs are the opposite of what our country needs. I urge him to reverse course and to do so immediately.
Senators Pete Rickets (R-NE) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) said in a joint statement, “This rule is delusional. This is the Biden administration’s attempt to get rid of the internal combustion engine without congressional authority. Together, we will be introducing Congressional Review Act legislation to overturn Biden’s EV mandate.”
The House and Senate can move forward with legislation to defund and repeal this rule. Whether it’s through the appropriations process or using the Congressional Review Act to strike down the measure, Eagle Forum supports all actions to ensure that we, and our children and grandchildren, have real choices in what cars we drive.
