Feenstra: Leading the charge to stop Biden's EV mandates
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In our free-market economy, Americans should have the freedom to purchase the car or truck of their choice without the federal government putting its thumb on the scale to advance a specific policy preference and distort the market. However, President Biden doesn’t see it that way. He prefers government intervention and costly mandates that support his Green New Deal agenda and further his vision to cripple the American energy sector through executive orders, burdensome regulations, and red tape. His insistence that every American drives an electric vehicle is only the latest example of the roadblocks that he is willing to construct to get his way.
Last April, the Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency released a proposed rule entitled “Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards for Model Years 2027 and Later Light-Duty and Medium-Duty Vehicles.” This jumbled title may appear complex at first look, but it essentially boils down to a simple fact. Under this EPA rule, 67 percent of new light-duty vehicles and 46 percent of medium-duty vehicles would be required to be electric by 2032 – just eight years away.
This de facto EV mandate is not only ridiculous, but it is also completely unworkable. In January, when severe winter weather and freezing temperatures blanketed many parts of the country – including here in Iowa – people were left stranded in the cold waiting for their electric vehicle to charge or venturing through dangerous conditions to find a charging station. Not to mention that President Biden’s obsession with electric vehicles strengthens China while weakening our economy because the critical materials needed to manufacture electric vehicles are primarily sourced from China. We also lack the costly infrastructure network required for electric vehicles. In its current state, our electric grid could never handle the massive influx of EVs that President Biden is proposing to put on the roads. While Californians and New Yorkers may prefer to drive EVs, we certainly don’t want them in rural Iowa.
But the EPA is moving ahead with this proposed rule anyway. In January, officials at the EPA forwarded this rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to begin the process of making this mandate on American families the law of the land.
That’s why Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) and I led a letter to President Biden and the Director of the OMB with 140 of our colleagues urging the Biden administration to rescind this proposed rule that would attempt to replace liquid fuels and combustion engines with unreliable and unaffordable electric vehicles. I also voted for the Choice in Automobile Retail Sales Act – which passed the U.S. House of Representatives in December – to prevent President Biden and his unruly EPA from finalizing or implementing this absurd rule in any way, shape, or form.
President Biden has made his intentions clear. He would rather force American families – who are already facing financial hardship under the weight of inflation spurred by trillions in wasteful government spending – to buy electric vehicles to advance his Green New Deal agenda than allow folks to choose the best car or truck for their families, businesses, and farms at an affordable price. I encourage the Biden administration to immediately withdraw this de facto mandate on hardworking Americans and instead work with Republicans to lower costs for our families, farmers, and small businesses.
Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) has represented Iowa’s Fourth Congressional District since 2021.
