Biden's New EPA Tailpipe Rule Penalizes American Energy Independence
On March 20, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a tailpipe vehicle emissions rule – a de facto ban on the sale of gas-powered and traditional hybrid vehicles – forcing automakers to sell more electric vehicles (EVs).
Experts and lawmakers agree: the Biden administration’s new rule will increase the cost of vehicles for the majority of Americans, only benefiting high-income earners.
Word on the Street via New York Times:
- “Nearly three years in the making, the new tailpipe pollution limits from the Environmental Protection Agency would transform the American automobile market.”
- “The rule increasingly limits the amount of pollution allowed from tailpipes over time so that, by 2032, more than half the new cars sold in the United States would most likely be zero-emissions vehicles in order for carmakers to meet the standards.”
- “The transition to electric vehicles would require enormous changes in manufacturing, infrastructure, technology, labor, global trade and consumer habits.”
- “The rules come on top of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, the biggest climate law in the nation’s history, which is providing at least $370 billion in federal incentives to support clean energy, including tax credits to buyers of electric vehicles.”
- “While more than 172,000 were installed last year, analysts project that the nation will need more than two million chargers by 2030 to support the growth in electric vehicles envisioned by the E.P.A. regulation.”
Big Picture:
Even with the $7,500 federal tax credit for EVs, middle-class Americans cannot afford the switch from traditional energy to electric-powered vehicles.
The auto industry continues struggling to meet the EV sales projections set forth by Washington Democrats. For instance, the Ford Motor Company sold just 24,000 of its new electric ‘F-150 Lightning’ trucks in 2023, falling far behind the company’s initial expectation of reaching 150,000 car sales.
The green energy and EV tax credits included in the final passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) were initially estimated to cost the taxpayer $369 billion over the next decade. Since then, the revised cost estimate for such provisions has dramatically increased, now hitting an “estimated $1.2 trillion,” according to a Goldman Sachs analysis.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) initially estimated that EPA’s tailpipe emissions rule would add $224 billion to the deficit by increasing the usage of EV tax credits and reducing revenues from the gas tax.
The target outlined in the EPA’s final rule ignores the current limitations in battery technology and the global supply chain constraints on critical minerals necessary for the rapid expansion of EVs. Without serious reforms, the EV transition stands to benefit our greatest adversary more than Americans—who are already footing the bill.
The Bottom Line:
The American taxpayer should not be on the hook for hundreds of billions of dollars imposed by radical policies to create an artificial market for something very few want or can even afford. President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) budget is filled with even more spending and taxing that would harm Americans:
- $4.9 trillion in new taxes on American families and producers.
- $86.6 trillion in spending over 10 years.
- $120 billion in new taxes on American energy producers.
- $900 million to expand the EPA.
- $11 billion for President Biden’s commitment to “international climate finance”.
- $4.4 billion for the Department of Homeland Security’s “climate resilience programs”.
- $8 billion in mandatory funding for AmeriCorps’ American Climate Corps (ACC) initiative to support an additional 50,000 ACC members annually by 2031 to “mobilize a new, diverse generation of… climate resilience workers.”
These dangerous policies will worsen the debt crisis and further plunge our economy into despair.
