The Biden administration has made electric vehicles a large part of its push toward green energy.
There has been pushback from people on both sides of the aisle, to the point that Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) is now joining the GOP in trying to block Biden's targeting of gas-powered cars.
In April, the EPA proposed a radical change to tailpipe emission standards. For many, this was a backdoor attempt to outlaw gasoline-powered cards.
The new regulations are aimed at making the majority of cars produced electric.
Fox News reported:
"Overall, if the regulations are finalized, a staggering 67% of new sedan, crossover, SUV and light truck purchases could be electric by 2032, the White House projected. In addition, up to 50% of bus and garbage truck, 35% of short-haul freight tractor and 25% of long-haul freight tractor purchases could be electric by then."
The vehicle pollution standards set by the EPA are touting nearly 10 billion tons of carbon emissions reduction by 2055.
Senate lawmakers are about to introduce the Choice in Automobile Retail Sales (CARS) Act. The effort is being led by Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE).
Crapo stated:
"Once again, the Biden administration's rule-making process is being used to push a radical green agenda and pick winners and losers. Americans deserve to have access to affordable, reliable vehicles fueled by American-made energy products.
"However, the Biden EPA's rule change would hurt everyday Americans while simultaneously helping China. Consequences of rules and regulations such as these restrict consumer choice and raise costs for the average American family."
Most Democrats have bought into the EV program, but not all. At the top of that list is Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.V.).
Manchin is backing the GOP legislation, stating:
"We cannot allow the EPA to continue to impose oppressive and careless regulations that increase our dependence on foreign adversaries like China and make everyday necessities more expensive for Americans and their families. I waited in line for gas in the '70s because America was too reliant on foreign oil, and I refuse to risk one day waiting in line for a Chinese battery.
"This bipartisan legislation would rescind this federal overreach and protect access to traditional, affordable vehicles. As chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, I will continue to lead the fight against EPA's radical climate agenda to protect our energy, national and economic security."
I am pretty confident there will be other members of the Democrat Party in the Senate that will fall in line with this legislation as long as Senator Schumer (D-N.Y.) puts the bill on the floor. With a majority in the House, Republicans should be able to get this bill on Biden's desk, which would force him to use the veto pen if he wants to fight it.
These regulations that Biden is putting in place are crushing Americans in the wallet.
For instance, the average cost of an EV is over $65,000, while the average price of an internal combustion engine vehicle is a tick over $48,000.
In many cases, the cost to replace the batteries on these cars is just about as much as the car itself, which is one of the major complaints you see posted by buyers.
There was a report in Bloomberg in August on this very subject, showing what the publication called "a graveyard of sorts" for abandoned electric vehicles.
We also have to take into account other measures that Biden has taken that would make us far more reliant on the Chinese supply chain.
Biden has protected several areas in this country that are some of the richest grounds for minerals needed to produce EV batteries. So, rather than making them ourselves, we would be forced to import the minerals at a much higher cost.
As I have stated before, I have no problem with renewable energy, but I don't think it should be forced, and I surely do not believe it should be done in a way that destroys the fossil fuel industry.
Furthermore, as I have previously noted, this massive push to green energy and greenhouse gas emissions reduction makes no sense if we don't get China and India on board.
This is all smoke and mirrors if the two largest polluters on the planet continue to go about business as usual while Biden cripples our economy and supply chain so that he can reduce carbon emissions in the United States for a talking point.
