Biden-Harris EV Mandate Faces Uncertain Fate in the Senate

An electric car charges at a mall parking lot on June 27, 2022 in Corte Madera, California. The average price for a new electric car has surged 22 percent in the past year as automakers like Tesla, GM and Ford seek to recoup commodity and logistics costs. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

(The Center Square) – The U.S. House passed a measure on Friday to overturn the Biden-Harris administration’s controversial electric vehicle mandate, but it now faces an uncertain fate in the Senate.

The mandate in question was put forward by the Environmental Protection Agency, which as The Center Square previously reported, would require that fully electric vehicles make up two thirds of all new "light duty" and 46% of new medium-duty vehicle sales in the U.S. by 2032.

Put plainly, most vehicles that Americans buy would need to be entirely electric in just a few years. As of now, electric vehicles are about 7% of new vehicle sales, meaning the EPA is requiring nearly a tenfold increase to that figure in less than a decade.

“By proposing the most ambitious pollution standards ever for cars and trucks, we are delivering on the Biden-Harris Administration’s promise to protect people and the planet, securing critical reductions in dangerous air and climate pollution and ensuring significant economic benefits like lower fuel and maintenance costs for families,” the EPA said when announcing the rule in 2023, making note of its “ambitious” nature.

Critics said it is overly ambitious, and that is the problem, pointing out the lack of charging stations, the increased cost to Americans, and arguing Americans should have the right to choose their own vehicle without EPA interference.

The House passed H.J. Res. 136 to overturn the EPA mandate with a bipartisan vote of 215-191.

“For people with their heads in the clouds in this town who don’t understand the way people are living across this country need to come to reality,” said Rep. John James, R-Mich., who led the effort.

Whether the same effort can get enough traction in the Senate just weeks from election day remains to be seen.

Sen. Pete Rickets, R-Neb., has put forward a similar bill, but it remains held up in the Democrat-led committee.

"We are running out of time to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and slow climate change for the health of our planet. And, there is no Planet B,” U.S. Senator Tom Carper, D-Del., Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said earlier this year in opposition to the effort.

In addition to the Congressional effort to overturn its EV regulatory structure, the EPA also faces lawsuits.

A coalition of 25 state attorneys general has sued the EPA over the rule for its electric vehicle regulations well as calls from car dealers and industry groups to “tap the brakes.”

Notably, car dealers have complained they are unable to sell the electric vehicles they have and are facing an oversupply issue. Electric vehicles can be more expensive to buy and repair, take longer to charge and present problems for Americans in areas where charging stations are not as convenient or realistically nearby enough, which is true for most of the U.S.

“Even with government subsidies, EV’s continue to be out of reach for many Americans who have already been experiencing the effects of crippling inflation worsened by the Biden-Harris administration,” Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., said on the House floor.

“This executive overreach would also essentially hand China the keys to our automotive future as around 90% of the EV supply chain in aggregate is controlled by China,” he added.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., called the EPA effort part of the White House’s “radical rush-to-green energy agenda.”

“The EPA’s latest tailpipe emissions rule is not really about reducing air pollution—it’s about forcing Americans to drive electric vehicles,” she said on the House floor, echoing a common criticism of the EPA rule.