President Biden’s latest attack on liquid fuels
On March 29th, the Biden administration finalized an egregious EPA rule that impacts every truck, tractor, semi, and bus in the United States. This regulation – titled “Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles – Phase 3” – would effectively mandate most new trucks, semis, tractors, and buses manufactured and sold be electric even while these electrified vehicles represent less than 1% of sales nationwide. This EPA regulation is just another attack on liquid fuels – including homegrown Iowa biofuels – by President Biden and his liberal advisors.
Under this new rule, it is estimated that it would cost $1 trillion in infrastructure investments alone to fully electrify the U.S. commercial truck fleet, utilities would be forced to spend nearly $400 billion to accommodate this forced electrification, and our grid security and resilience would be needlessly jeopardized by exponentially higher demand for power. This projection does not even include the hefty expense of purchasing electric trucks, which, on average, cost over $400,000 compared to $180,000 for a traditional diesel-powered vehicle. Moreover, this mandate would strain our supply chains, hurt our farmers, harm our economy, and increase costs for every single American.
That’s why Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho and I recently led over 150 of our colleagues in a letter to EPA Secretary Michael Regan urging the Biden administration to rescind this rule and maintain choice for both manufacturers, truckers, and consumers alike. On top of inflation, poor economic conditions, and other regulations, this de facto electric-vehicle mandate on our truckers, manufacturers, farmers, and dealers will hike the cost of groceries, utility bills, and everyday goods that American families rely on. We cannot allow unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. to decide which car, truck, or tractor anyone should or shouldn’t buy.
Furthermore, this recent EPA decision follows a separate rule finalized just nine days earlier – March 20th – which would require 67% of new light-duty vehicles and 46% of medium-duty vehicles to be electric by 2032. Yet, according to market data, electric vehicles accounted for only 5.8% of new vehicle sales in the United States in 2022. Just like the mandate on trucks, tractors, semis, and buses, this is another unrealistic deadline and an unaffordable imposition on American families, farmers, and businesses. It’s why we also sent another letter with over 140 of our colleagues to Secretary Regan demanding that the Biden administration overturn this overreaching rule. Instead of forcing American families to buy electric vehicles to advance his Green New Deal agenda, President Biden should allow folks to choose the best car or truck for their families, businesses, and farms at an affordable price.
While these government regulations will undoubtedly worsen our inflation crisis and mandate the forced electrification of our vehicles, this rule will embolden and enrich China at a time of global instability and precarious supply chains. China is home to a large amount of the critical minerals necessary to produce electric-vehicle batteries and other vehicle components. By basically mandating that new cars, trucks, tractors, semis, and buses be electric in less than a decade, our reliance on foreign supply chains will exacerbate and our dependency on China for critical materials will skyrocket.
President Biden’s electric-vehicle mandates are unworkable and costly. They represent a targeted attack on liquid fuels that are vital to our national and energy security and on Iowa farmers and biofuel producers who power our economy and keep our main streets strong. We must let the free market – not the heavy hand of government – work as intended. Electric-vehicle mandates are no exception.
This op-ed was originally published in the Washington Times on July 15, 2024.