President Joe Biden made the case on Tuesday for an $174 billion electric-vehicle (EV) proposal, urging automakers not to build zero-emission vehicles abroad for U.S. consumers during his tour of Ford’s Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan.
The proposal is a part of Biden’s vast $2 trillion infrastructure plan, and aims to boost the market for electric vehicles and renewable power — both aimed at weaning the United States off fossil fuels and “combating climate change.” According to the Biden administration, the “U.S. market share of plug-in electric vehicle (EV) sales is only one-third the size of the Chinese EV market. The President believes that must change.”
The Biden administration implies the new EV funds will lead to more U.S. production of EV components and batteries and fund new consumer rebates and tax incentives “to buy American-made EVs, while ensuring that these vehicles are affordable for all families and manufactured by workers with good jobs.”
The centerpiece of Biden’s EV plan is $100 billion in consumer rebates. Biden backs a further $10 billion in new tax credits for zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty work vehicles.
The Biden plan proposes grants and incentives “to build a national network of 500,000 EV chargers by 2030,” which would cost $15 billion. It also calls for replacing 50,000 diesel transit vehicles and electrifying at least 20 percent of school buses and $20 billion to improve road safety, all of which drew plaudits from environmentalists.
While touring Ford’s EV plant, President Biden proclaimed himself a “car guy,” and said the future of the auto industry is electric. “There’s no turning back,” Biden said.
“We need automakers and other companies to keep investing here in America and not take the benefits of our public investments and expand electric vehicles and battery manufacturing abroad,” Biden added.
The president touted his so-called American Jobs Plan, which would offer incentives to customers buying electric vehicles, offer tax credits for zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles, provide money for electric transit and school buses, offer tax credits for electric vehicle manufacturing, and pay for more charging stations.
The United States had about 100,000 charging stations in 2020, compared to 800,000 in China, per the White House, and this upsets the president.
“Right now, China is leading in this race — make no bones about it, it’s a fact,” Biden remarked. “They think they’re going to win. But I’ve got news for them — they will not win this race.”
Biden spoke of supporting unions and not leaving Americans behind, promising that around 90 percent of the jobs created by his American Jobs Plan wouldn’t require a bachelor’s degree.
Biden criticized former President Donald Trump during the speech — although not by name — saying he’ll reverse Trump’s rollbacks on vehicle efficiency and emissions standards, and hit his predecessor on infrastructure, saying in four years Trump “didn’t do a damn thing” about it.
Attendees in the audience included workers from the plant, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D), Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan (D), and many other Democratic lawmakers, including Representative Rashida Tlaib — a fierce critic of Israel and Biden. Biden praised Governor Whitmer, calling her a friend who has “a backbone like a ramrod.” He also offered his admiration to Tlaib, whose name he mispronounced three times.
The visit was marked by yet another bizarre “joke” by the president. During remarks at the plant, Biden said he would like to drive the electric F-150 if he could “lose the Secret Service and go out to the track,” which was arranged for him. At the track, he told reporters that “This sucker’s quick,” and “teased” the reporter who tried to ask a question on Israel by oddly saying, “No, you can’t [ask a question]. Not unless you get in front of the car as I step on it,” which triggered giggles from the press pool.
Republicans were critical of Biden’s event and his American Jobs Plan.
“Joe Biden and Gretchen Whitmer are too busy championing a plan that will be a wrecking ball to Michigan’s economy,” Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel said in a statement, according to the Michigan Local News. “Instead of destroying good paying union jobs, decimating Detroit’s world-class auto industry and creating a fuel crisis, Whitmer and Biden should pay attention to the crumbling roads around them.”
Almost every congressional Republican has voiced opposition to Biden’s proposal, characterizing his infrastructure bill and its dramatic investment in EVs as part of a leftist agenda unrelated to traditional infrastructure.
“The total amount of funding it would direct to roads, bridges, ports, waterways and airports combined adds up to less than what it would spend just on electric cars,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in a press release last week. “The far left sees a strong family resemblance between these proposals and their socialist ‘Green New Deal.’”
It should also be mentioned that car manufacturers already have their own plans to shift to green technologies, regardless of the Biden administration’s agenda. “All the major car manufacturers have said that they’re going to go to an electric vehicle fleet by 2035, 2040,” Senator Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) said at a Senate budget hearing in early April, noting it’s just a matter of time until most cars will be running on something other than gasoline, without the government’s help.
