Republicans are pushing back against Democrat President Joe Biden’s administration over a new rule for electric vehicles (EV), which they argue is “unlawful.”
Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is being criticized over its proposed rule that would force auto manufacturers to make more EVs.
Under the proposed rule, auto manufacturers would be required by law to grow today’s 8.4 percent share of light-duty new electric vehicle sales to 67 percent by 2032.
However, Biden’s proposed plans are being blasted by Republican attorneys general as “unlawful and misguided.”
Attorneys general for Kentucky and West Virginia are leading a letter signed by more than 20 Republican state attorneys.
They argue that Biden’s rule would pose risks for “consumer safety, economic stability, and national security.”
The new rule is being billed by the Biden admin as the tightening of existing standards for “criteria pollutant and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from” certain motor vehicles.
“At 29,186, the Proposed Rule is, more accurately, the next phase in a top-to-bottom attempt to restructure the automobile industry,” the Republican AGs argue in their letter.
“And the Proposed Rule’s approach will create more problems than it purports to solve.
“We urge EPA to adopt instead possible standards that maintain our nation’s air quality without risking consumer safety, economic stability, and national security,” the letter states.
Mike Sommers, the president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, also slammed Biden’s rule, arguing it missed the mark.
“While not an explicit ban on internal combustion engines, this proposal is a de facto ban that will eliminate competition, distort the market, and restrict consumer choice while being potentially more costly to taxpayers,” Sommers said.
The Republican AGs said more time is needed to develop better solutions.
They argue that mandating fast and extreme transformations before supply chains, national security, or consumer confidence will backfire.
Alliance for Automotive Innovation argued that the market is not ready for a surplus of electric vehicles even if consumers are ready to buy one.
Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron criticized the Democrat’s escalated panic and his attempt to use “the power of government to force a massive shift in demand for automobiles, with the government putting its thumb on the scale in favor of EVs.”
“This is the latest head-in-the-sand approach to achieving the left’s impossible green-energy fantasies,” Cameron said.
READ MORE: Toyota CEO Warns ‘Silent Majority’ of Automakers Don’t Believe in Electric Vehicles
