“I am going to make sure that every Senator in this chamber is put on record having to vote on where they stand for this reckless policy.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), chairman of the Senate Republican Conference and top Republican on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, today delivered remarks blasting the Biden Administration’s costly electric car mandate.

“Joe Biden is trying to force feed American drivers expensive electrical vehicles – vehicles that they don’t need, they don’t want, and they can’t afford. Joe Biden is trying to put the federal government in the driver’s seat as people make decisions on something that is a very personal decision and an expensive decision in terms of what they purchase. And the bad news about these regulations, these come on top of the crushing inflation that so many people in this country are currently living under.

“Joe Biden first came after our gas stoves, and now he’s decided that by 2023, two-thirds of all the vehicles sold in the United States need to be electric vehicles. I would say to the president, in spite of the mandates, in spite of the very hefty subsidies, people still don’t want and cannot afford these expensive electric vehicles. An additional subsidy isn’t the answer.

“On average, electric vehicles last month in this country cost $62,000 – that’s $16,000 more than the cost of traditional vehicles. Well, expensive electric vehicles may work well for people in big cities who don’t drive very far. But if you live in rural America – you’re in Wyoming, you’re a farmer, you’re a rancher – for families all across the country, they want vehicles that are affordable and reliable. Electric vehicles are neither. The batteries themselves are extremely expensive, they’re unreliable. They don’t have much range, and they take a long time to recharge.

“So who’s the big winner in Joe Biden’s policy here? The big winner is China because they’re the ones that sell us the batteries. I would expect in the future the batteries to come with a ‘Made in China’ label because that’s where the batteries are made. And the reason is that China has cornered the world market on the minerals that are needed to create those batteries. They’ve done so. Once again, Joe Biden is selling out America to China. And the reason I say this is even his own White House has said China will be big players in the president’s energy agenda. Big players. Well, these big players of China right now are getting richer off of us, getting stronger off of us as we through our energy policies are getting weaker and poorer.

“So we know why we have this energy policy. Because Joe Biden has surrendered America’s energy policy to the climate extremists, and with it goes our wealth and our national security. When these regulations come out, I am going to make sure that every Senator in this chamber is put on record having to vote on where they stand for this reckless policy.”

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Background:

• 64% of Americans say they won’t buy an electric car in the next 10 years because they cost too much.
• According to J.D. Power, the average electric vehicle costs $61,800 while the average cost of gas-powered vehicles is $45,600.