President Biden will be forced to break out his veto pen for the 10th time after Congress repealed an administration rule governing electric vehicle chargers.
The House voted Thursday 209-198 to end a waiver from the Federal Highway Administration temporarily lifting so-called “Buy America” requirements for government-funded EV chargers to be sourced with domestic materials.
The Senate passed the measure, led by Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, in November. Mr. Biden has vowed to issue a veto.
“There is a desire for the administration to continue to push its woke agenda without fully considering the far-reaching ramifications,” said Rep. Garret Graves, Louisiana Republican. “Simply put, a waiver undercuts American investments and risks empowering foreign nations.”
The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allotted $7.5 billion for EV chargers, a major element of Mr. Biden’s climate change agenda to ditch gas-powered cars. The administration issued a waiver so that new chargers could be built quicker with foreign materials like iron and steel, but critics say it makes the U.S. more reliant on adversaries such as China.
Only two charging stations, which include multiple chargers, were built as of December with the funds. Mr. Biden wants 500,000 new EV chargers to be installed by 2030. The U.S. lags far behind industry needs with only about 187,000 chargers nationwide, according to the Department of Energy.
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Two House Democrats in competitive districts — Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Don Davis of North Carolina — joined nearly all Republicans to vote against Mr. Biden’s position, marking the latest loss for the president’s climate change agenda in Congress with the help of Democrats.
The Democratic-led Senate narrowly passed the measure 50-48 in November, when four Democrats sided with almost all Republicans.
Mr. Biden’s policy will remain in effect because Congress will be unable to muster the two-thirds majority needed to override his expected veto.
The White House has made the case that ending the waiver would actually worsen U.S. dependency on China, because it would also repeal long-term domestic sourcing requirements that kick in later this year.
If enacted, the White House budget office said, the legislation would “undermine the hundreds of millions of dollars that the private sector has already invested in domestic EV charging manufacturing, and chill further domestic investment in this critical market.”
EV chargers can only qualify for government funding if made from at least 55% domestic materials and be 100% manufactured in the U.S. The waiver allows the stipulations to be postponed until July 2024 to give manufacturers transition time.
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• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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