Several top Republican lawmakers and energy industry groups blasted the Biden administration Wednesday after it announced aggressive regulations cracking down on gas-powered car emissions.
Critics of the sweeping emissions standards, unveiled Wednesday morning by the White House and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), argued the announcement revealed President Biden is seeking to effectively ban traditional gas cars in favor of electric vehicles (EV). The White House said the rules would "accelerate the clean vehicle transition" and reduce pollution by nearly 10 billion tons by 2055.
"First President Biden came for our gas stoves," Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee ranking member John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. "Now he wants to ban the cars we drive."
"His misguided policies are hurting American families while helping China," he continued. "The president’s disastrous energy transition is making us more reliant on our enemies while driving up prices for Americans. The ‘electrification of everything’ is not a solution. It’s a road to higher prices and fewer choices."
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The tailpipe emissions rules will impact car model years 2027 through 2032. The regulations require automakers to ensure a massive 56% greenhouse gas emissions reduction in 2032 vehicles compared to 2026 models, likely forcing companies to produce electric alternatives more rapidly.
According to the White House, 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 trucks, 35% of short-haul freight tractor and 25% of long-haul freight tractor purchases could be electric in less than a decade.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the regulations were the most ambitious pollution standards ever for cars and trucks. He added that the rules would secure "critical reductions in dangerous air and climate pollution."
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"Today, the Biden administration made clear it wants to decide for Americans what kinds of cars and trucks we are allowed to buy, lease, and drive," said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., the top GOP member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
"These misguided emissions standards were made without considering the supply chain challenges American automakers are still facing, the lack of sufficiently operational electric vehicle charging infrastructure, or the fact that it takes nearly a decade to permit a mine to extract the minerals needed to make electric vehicles, forcing businesses to look to China for these raw materials," she continued.
"They also did not consider that the average price of an electric vehicle was roughly $65,000 last year, more than the household income of 46% of American families," Capito added.
The West Virginia lawmaker noted that the Biden administration is "doing everything in its power," meanwhile, to retire existing fossil fuel power generation, potentially jeopardizing the stability of the nation's grid as an increasing number of vehicles are powered by electricity instead of petroleum.
In addition, energy industry groups blasted the announcement Wednesday, saying it would amount to a gas car ban and increase reliance on foreign supplies.
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"This deeply flawed proposal is a major step toward a ban on the vehicles Americans rely on," American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Mike Sommers said in a statement. "As proposed, this rule will hurt consumers with higher costs and greater reliance on unstable foreign supply chains."
China currently boasts 78% of the world’s cell manufacturing capacity for EV batteries, according to a Brookings Institution analysis released last year. China also controls the majority of global mining and refining of critical minerals that are required for EV batteries.
"EPA’s proposal to effectively ban gasoline and diesel vehicles is bad for consumers, the environment, our freedom of mobility and U.S. national security," said American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers President and CEO Chet Thompson.
"It’s unconscionable that the Administration would propose this knowing full well that China controls 80% of global battery production capacity, and even with robust U.S. investment to fortify our own electric grid and grow our battery supply chains by a magnitude of 10, we will not come close to overtaking China’s dominant position and will be left more dependent and financially beholden to them as a result."
"We should all be aiming for individuals and families to have more fuel and vehicle choices, not less, that can fit within their budgets and meet their work and household needs. EPA’s harmful proposal falls well short of that," Thompson continued.
And Daniel Turner, the executive director of Power The Future, said the regulations proved EVs are unable to compete with less expensive gas vehicles.
"Biden’s newest power grab is the latest attempt to force a green agenda on an unwilling electorate in order to reward his eco-extremist supporters," Turner said.
"Despite massive tax breaks and flattering coverage in the media, EVs simply cannot compete in the free market," he continued. "If Joe Biden is going to force Americans to give up their preferred mode of transportation, Congress should mandate the White House and every member of the Biden Administration drive EVs exclusively and immediately."
