12.07.2023

Cruz, Lummis Demand End to Biden’s Electric Vehicle Mandate

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), along with several of their Senate Western Caucus colleagues, sent a letter to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) urging Congressional leadership to defund the Biden administration’s electric vehicle (EV) rule, which requires vehicles to be fully electric by 2032. This rule will affect more than two-thirds of vehicles sold in the U.S. Defunding the EV mandate would protect the freedom of Americans in Texas, the west, and across the country to choose the cars or trucks they drive and remove excessive costs.

In the letter the senators wrote, “Not only would the EPA’s proposed regulation hurt America’s national security, but it would severely limit consumer choice for affordable vehicles that fit the needs of the average American. At a time of inflation, high interest rates, and rising costs, the last thing Americans need is to find both new and used vehicles unaffordable because of an EPA mandate.”

Cosigners of the letter include Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), John Boozman (A-Ark.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), James Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) James Lankford (R-Kan.) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah).

Read the full text of the letter here.

BACKGROUND

The EPA’s mandate would require 67.5% of vehicles sold to be an EV in less than nine years, which is a steep increase from 2022 where less than 6% of all vehicles sold were EVs.
The mandate comes at a very high cost for hardworking people across the west:

o The average cost of an EV is $53,469, just $663 less than the median American income which is $54,132 according to estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

o A study found the cost of charging an EV is equivalent to $17 a gallon for traditional internal combustion vehicles.

American demand for critical minerals to build EV batteries is set to increase more than 30x by 2040, increasing our dependency on China which currently controls 76% of global battery cell production.
Sen. Cruz has consistently fought for automobile choice. In October of 2023, he introduced the Choice in Automobile Retail Sales (CARS) Act to counter the Biden administration’s executive overreach banning gasoline powered vehicles and establishing an electric vehicle mandate. The bill prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from finalizing, implementing, or enforcing its rule that would limit what cars and trucks Texans can buy under the pretext of emissions reductions.
Sen. Cruz previously criticized the Biden administration’s effort to use the regulatory process to mandate electric vehicles, calling out the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for model years 2027-2032.