Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said in a written statement on Tuesday that President Joe Biden’s electric vehicle scheme will only empower China.
Manchin, the chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, railed against the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) vehicle emissions standards, which will try to push Americans toward purchasing electric vehicles. He said:
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.
Although Biden is trying to boost domestic battery manufacturing as part of his electric vehicle push, some critical raw materials are only found internationally, and China controls much of the supply.
The Biden administration will outline aggressive automobile pollution limits that would require at least 54 percent of new vehicles sold in America to be electric by 2030.
Sen. Mike Braun’s (R-IN) office said in a press release that Biden’s proposed emissions standards would attempt to make two-thirds of all new passenger cars and one-quarter of all trucks sold in America electric by 2032.
Braun explained in April:
President Biden and his EPA are proposing unrealistic emissions standards to try to push the public further than they are willing to go. This plan is totally disconnected by the reality of our supply chain and energy infrastructure, and will result in the U.S. depending even more on China for raw rare earth minerals that the Biden administration doesn’t allow to be mined here.
He added, “I ran a shipping and logistics business for 37 years, so I know this kind of overbearing government overreach will make everything more expensive.”
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.