Joe Biden is once again about to be put on the spot by members of the Democrat Party.
Again, a bipartisan piece of legislation has made its way through the House, and it is expected to pass the Senate, with only a veto preventing it from becoming law.
The problem for Biden is that it would strike down measures this administration took to push Biden's EV agenda.
On Wednesday, the House voted 221-197 to pass the Choice in Automobile Retail Sales (CARS) Act, a piece of legislation that directly responds to new EPA measures that would "accelerate the transition to electric vehicles" in this country.
Five Democrats crossed the aisle to pass this legislation, and there is bipartisan support for the bill in the Senate, so it should hit Biden's desk soon for his signature.
The legislation would block new emissions standards recommended by the EPA to crack down on gasoline-powered cars.
If the EPA rule is finalized and implemented, the White House estimated that 67% of passenger vehicles and 50% of bus and garbage truck purchases would be electric by 2032.
Industry professionals have been concerned about the cost of such an aggressive agenda.
For instance, John Bozzella, the CEO of the large auto industry group Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which supports EVs, stated:
"Auto Innovators does not believe [the proposed standards] can be met without substantially increasing the cost of vehicles, reducing consumer choice, and disadvantaging major portions of the United States population."
Keep in mind that this organization is on board with the transition, but even they think this is far too aggressive without crushing the American consumer.
The second argument against the standards is that it would help China while penalizing American businesses in this sector. American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers Vice President of Government Relations Aaron Ringel stated:
"Voting for the CARS Act and taking a stand against EPA's de facto ban on most new gasoline, diesel, flex fuel and hybrid vehicles should not be a partisan issue for members of the House.
"Banning vehicle and fuel technologies based on just one category of emissions is unlawful, illogical and bad for consumers, families and our national security. It would trade our hard-earned energy security for dependence on China."
Democrats seem to live in fantasyland regarding the cost of EVs and how it would impact our economy and make the United States more reliant on China.
To that point, the Democrat House and Energy Committee sent out a memo which stated:
"Republicans are employing scare tactics to deliberately mislead the American people about EVs in order to prop up Big Oil corporations.
"The reality is that EVs are already popular, cheaper to own, and ongoing technological advancements are translating to better options for consumers every year."
Again, go back to the comments made by John Bozzella, an EV advocate who is blatantly honest about the aggressive nature of the new EPA rules, whose comments completely contradict the talking points of Democrats.
There are at least a half-dozen Democrats in the Senate considering supporting this legislation, and I would lock in at least two or three of them that are definite "yes" votes, which means Biden will once again have to veto bipartisan legislation.
Biden has already vetoed eight pieces of legislation during the 118th Congress, which will force his hand again.
Now, I am never for statement legislation that has no shot of getting through both chambers, but when you can pass legislation like this, it is essential to get the sitting president on record for a veto to make him solely responsible for the impact of legislation or standards being put in place by his administration, which is what is happening here.
In this particular election cycle, this becomes even more damning for Biden due to the allegations of "dictator" being tossed around by Democrats at Donald Trump right now.
Typically, we see a president veto legislation that comes from an opposition House and Senate, but everything that Biden is vetoing right now comes with congressional bipartisan support, and there is nothing that says dictator or rogue administration more than a sitting president that is vetoing legislation that both parties and their constituents openly support.
This is a significant attack point for the GOP to use against Biden and Democrats in the upcoming cycle, and if I were Ronna McDaniel, I would already be putting together the material to drive these points home to voters.
