OPINION:
On March 29, the Biden administration established an egregious Environmental Protection Agency rule that affects every truck, tractor, semi and bus in the United States. This regulation, “Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles — Phase 3,” would effectively mandate that most new trucks, semis, tractors and buses manufactured and sold be electric, even though these electrified vehicles represent less than 1% of sales nationwide.
This EPA regulation is just another attack on liquid fuels — including homegrown Iowa biofuels — by President Biden and his liberal advisers.
Under this new rule, it is estimated that it would cost $1 trillion in infrastructure investments alone to fully electrify the U.S. commercial truck fleet, utilities would be forced to spend nearly $400 billion to accommodate this forced electrification, and our grid security and resilience would be needlessly jeopardized by exponentially higher demand for power.
This projection does not even include the hefty expense of purchasing electric trucks, which on average cost over $400,000, compared with $180,000 for a traditional diesel-powered vehicle. Moreover, this mandate would strain our supply chains, hurt our farmers, harm our economy and increase costs for every single American.
That’s why Sen. Mike Crapo, Idaho Republican, and I recently led over 150 of our colleagues in a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan urging the Biden administration to rescind this rule and maintain choice for manufacturers, truckers and consumers alike. On top of inflation, raise conditions and other regulations, this de facto electric-vehicle mandate on our truckers, manufacturers, farmers and dealers will raise the cost of utility bills, groceries and other everyday goods that American families rely on. We cannot allow unelected bureaucrats in Washington to decide which car, truck or tractor anyone should or shouldn’t buy.
Furthermore, this recent EPA decision follows a separate rule established just nine days earlier — March 20 — that would require 67% of new light-duty vehicles and 46% of medium-duty vehicles to be electric by 2032. Yet according to market data, electric vehicles accounted for only 5.8% of new-vehicle sales in the United States in 2022. Like the mandate on trucks, tractors, semis and buses, this is another unrealistic deadline and an unaffordable imposition on American families, farmers and businesses.
That’s why we also sent another letter to Mr. Regan, along with over 140 of our colleagues, demanding that the Biden administration overturn this overreaching rule. Instead of forcing American families to buy electric vehicles to advance his Green New Deal agenda, President Biden should allow people to choose the best car or truck for their families, businesses and farms at an affordable price.
While these government regulations will undoubtedly worsen our inflation crisis and mandate the forced electrification of our vehicles, this rule will embolden and enrich China at a time of global instability and precarious supply chains. China is home to a large amount of the critical minerals necessary to produce EV batteries and other vehicle components. By basically mandating that new cars, trucks, tractors, semis and buses be electric in less than a decade, our reliance on foreign supply chains will exacerbate our dependency on China for critical materials.
President Biden’s electric vehicle mandates are unworkable and costly. They represent a targeted attack on liquid fuels vital to our national and energy security and on Iowa farmers and biofuel producers that power our economy and keep our main streets strong. We must let the free market — not the heavy hand of government — work as intended, and EV mandates are no exception.
• Randy Feenstra represents Iowa’s 4th Congressional District.
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