President Joe Biden’s (D) administration is loaning Ford and its battery manufacturing partner billions of dollars to help build three electric vehicle (EV) battery plants as officials discuss Thursday how the president’s green energy agenda is hurting Americans.
The U.S. Department of Energy is loaning Ford and its partner $9.2 billion to construct EV plants in Tennessee and Kentucky, the Washington Examiner reported Thursday.
The outlet said the move was supposed to increase domestic battery manufacturing in a bid to compete with China on the issue.
Meanwhile, leaders with the House Energy and Commerce Committee gathered for a hearing on Biden’s push for green energy and electric vehicles, Breitbart News reported Thursday.
In their statement, Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials Subcommittee Chair Bill Johnson (R-OH) explained that “people are struggling to afford some of the highest energy and auto prices in decades as a result of Biden’s energy and inflation crisis.”
They also said Biden’s rush toward green energy policies is hurting middle and low-income families the worst.
According to the Examiner, the loan is on a conditional agreement granted to Ford and its Korean partner.
The outlet also noted it is the biggest government loan for an American automaker “since the 2009 financial crisis and subsequent bailout of the auto industry.”
The article continued:
The Biden administration has raced to build out the electric vehicle and battery manufacturing supply chain in a bid to compete against China and deliver on its goal of having 50% of all new cars sold in the United States be electric vehicles by the year 2030. EVs currently account for roughly 7% of all cars sold in the U.S.
The Loan Programs Office was tasked by the Inflation Reduction Act with overseeing the distribution of roughly $400 billion in new loans.
In September 2021, Ford said it was pouring $11 billion into electric vehicle production, according to NBC News.
The report said Ford was planning to spend the money on constructing plants in Tennessee and Kentucky while also hiring 11,000 workers:
Meanwhile, Ford announced in March its electric vehicle unit called “Ford Model e” is bleeding billions of dollars and is expected to lose more this year, according to Breitbart News.
When it comes to Biden’s electric vehicle scheme and China, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, said in April the move would only empower the communist country, per Breitbart News.
Manchin’s statement read:
The EPA is lying to Americans with false claims about how their manipulation of the market to boost EVs will help American energy security. In reality, this is a Trojan horse. To meet these timelines will mean strengthening our reliance on minerals and technologies controlled by the Chinese. Taken in concert with the clear violation of the IRA to undermine provisions that would actually secure these supply chains, this Administration is taking steps that will only result in a more energy secure and powerful China. I don’t believe that making progress on climate change should come at the expense of our national and energy security. I fully support Congress overturning these dangerous EPA regulations.
Even though the president has been working to increase domestic battery manufacturing in regard to electric vehicles, some of the raw materials needed for the project can only be found internationally, and China has control over much of that supply, Breitbart News noted.
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