[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 20, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S2451]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            EPA Regulations

  Mr. President, on a different matter, this week the Biden 
administration's radical EPA is finalizing yet another regulation that 
will force ordinary Americans to conform their lifestyles to coastal 
elite sensibilities. This latest rule would use strict emissions 
requirements on auto manufacturers to effectively ban gas-powered 
vehicles.
  The President's energy agenda just keeps on putting climate activists 
in the driver's seat and leaves American workers in the dust. From 
canceling new oil leases and clean energy projects like LNG to 
threatening to ban gas stoves, the Biden administration has made it 
abundantly clear that they are willing to trade working families' 
livelihoods for kudos from their radical base.
  But this week, the House Republican majority is actually fighting 
back. Our colleagues have dedicated this week to considering 
commonsense legislation to undo some of the worst offenses of the Biden 
administration's regulatory state. They will take up bills to clear 
radical roadblocks that are preventing the completion of so many urgent 
energy infrastructure projects, to protect energy sector jobs against 
freezes on fracking and other energy development, to repeal a 
multibillion-dollar taxpayer slush fund for green energy projects, and 
to warn about the disastrous effects of a carbon tax on the U.S. 
economy.
  The Biden administration keeps trying to sell working families on 
electric vehicles, but the American people aren't buying the hype. The 
average EV costs over $14,000 more than the average gas-powered 
vehicle. Auto dealers around the country have noticed that demand for 
electric vehicles is stagnant. And at least one rental company is 
selling off its stock due to a lack of interest.
  Meanwhile, State utilities are growing concerned that their power 
grids are already straining under soaring demand for electricity. Just 
imagine what would happen to our fragile electrical grids if we forced 
people to drive electric cars. Now, that doesn't seem to concern the 
Biden administration; neither does the fact that the supply chains for 
the critical minerals in EV batteries run straight through the People's 
Republic of China.
  The EPA's new emissions standards are so stringent that they would 
require electric vehicles make up two of every three vehicles on the 
consumer market within 8 years, regardless of whether charging 
infrastructure is ever available. Apparently, rolling blackouts are 
just one of the many costs of admission to the Biden administration's 
green future.
  So I would like to commend our House Republican colleagues for 
putting serious solutions on the table, and I hope Washington Democrats 
will snap out of their climate daydream before it becomes a nightmare 
for working families.