For Immediate Release:
July 6, 2023
For press inquiries only, contact:
Amanda Priest (334) 322-5694
Cameron Mixon (334) 242-7491
(Montgomery)— Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall challenged the Biden Administration’s draconian regulations on tailpipe emissions. The administration’s plan mandates the phasing out of gas-powered vehicles and would compel the restructuring of the entire automobile industry around the production of electric vehicles (EVs). The proposal aims to boost certain EV sales from the current 8.4% of total vehicle sales to 67% by 2032. Attorney General Marshall signed onto the 25-state coalition letter opposing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plan, arguing the move would damage our economy, undermine the reliability of our electrical grids, threaten our national security, and drastically increase costs for both families and businesses.
“Yet again, President Biden has prioritized his radical and illogical environmental agenda over the economic realities facing working-class Americans, and this time he’s targeting affordable gas-powered vehicles,” said Attorney General Marshall. “Consumers are already experiencing record high energy prices and painful inflation, and this proposal will only prolong and exacerbate the inflationary pressures that are plaguing our economy. I will always stand guard against Biden’s radical agenda, and I will never stop fighting for consumers and businesses in our state.”
The coalition’s letter argues that the aggressive shift to EVs is counterproductive, misguided, and unrealistic. The nation’s power grids not only lack the capacity to accommodate the demands of the new proposed rule, but the grid is also lacking the stability to compensate for these new stringent demands. The EPA’s plan undercuts American energy independence. Additionally, this fast-and-furious approach to electrification will have devastating consequences for our automotive supply chain by making us overly dependent on foreign adversaries, like China, for the raw minerals required for electric vehicle production.
Keep in mind that at the end of 2022, the average electric vehicle sold for $61,448. Consequently, the coalition argues that it is not the right time to complicate the automobile manufacturing process which will increase the average price per vehicle. Consumers are already experiencing record inflation, historic gasoline prices, and high utility bills. Since President Biden took office, food prices are up over 18%, and energy prices are up over 37%. Home prices have also surged more than 27% in fewer than three years. Even if millions of Americans decided to abandon gas-powered cars over the next few years, they won’t be able to afford EVs.
Attorney General Marshall signed on to the letter with attorneys general in Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
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