Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has called out Joe Biden after details of the Democrat president’s electric car plan were leaked.
The leak revealed that the Biden administration is drafting an executive order to use the Defense Production Act to “alleviate shortages of key minerals needed for the technology to store clean energy.”
However, critics say the move is a handout to Biden-friendly electric vehicle manufacturers.
“After begging for oil from dictators, Biden is now using emergency war powers to produce batteries for the 1% that drive electric cars,” DeSantis said.
“Most Americans suffering due to high gas prices don’t have the luxury of spending $50k+ on an electric car.
“Unleash American energy today!”
After begging for oil from dictators, Biden is now using emergency war powers to produce batteries for the 1% that drive electric cars.
Most Americans suffering due to high gas prices don’t have the luxury of spending $50k+ on an electric car.
Unleash American energy today!
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) March 27, 2022
The bill I signed today provides protections for parents by ensuring curriculum transparency in schools.
In Florida, we are empowering parents. pic.twitter.com/nj4GSxZWEq
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) March 25, 2022
In February, Florida:
– created 52,000 private sector jobs
– our unemployment rate fell to 3.3%, well below the national average
– employers have now added jobs for 22 consecutive months— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) March 25, 2022
Several senators sent Biden a letter asking him to use the Defense Production Act to “support and increase manufacturing capacity and supply chain security for technologies that reduce fossil fuel demand and fuel costs, such as electric heat pumps, efficient electric appliances, renewable energy generation and storage, and other clean technologies.”
From The Intercept:
The Biden administration is drafting an executive order invoking the Defense Production Act to alleviate shortages of key minerals needed for the technology to store clean energy.
The act, which would bolster the manufacturing capacity of electric vehicle producers, in particular, indicates that the administration is open to using executive power to achieve progressive policy goals as Congress remains reluctant to pass key parts of his green energy agenda.
The order would declare that “ensuring robust, resilient, and sustainable domestic industrial base to meet the requirements of the clean energy economy is essential to our national security,” according to a draft of the document that remains in the “pre-decisional” phase.
That reasoning follows a renewed push from the administration on its climate change priorities in light of shocks in the oil and gas market following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The order would specifically say “domestic mining, beneficiation, and value-added processing of strategic and critical materials from sustainable sources for the production of large-capacity batteries for the automotive, e-mobility, and stationary storage sectors is essential to national defense.”
