Vice President Kamala Harris says she will not ban fracking, she will not confiscate your guns, and she will not take away your gas-powered car.
ƵContrary to what my opponent is suggesting, I will never tell you what kind of car you have to drive,Ƶ the Democratic presidential nominee recently told a Michigan crowd.
However, like her previous promises, Harris has a record that contradicts her current stance. In fact, she co-sponsored the Zero-Emission Vehicles Act of 2019, which would have ended the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2040. Except the version Harris backed actually moved that date up to 2035.
ƵEnding sales of new gas-powered cars is part of Kamala HarrisƵ climate change plan,Ƶ as the Sacramento Bee headline said.
ƵWeƵre facing a climate crisis that must be met with bold action,Ƶ Harris said.
HarrisƵs defenders argue that her aggressive proposals to end gas-powered cars were part of her 2020 presidential strategy of running in the progressive lane. Now that sheƵs the vice president, they claim her true colors are on display.
Ƶ vice president, Harris has supported Ƶnet zero emissionsƵ by 2050 and ending the use of gas-powered cars to achieve that goal.
Harris also included a social justice element in her current arguments, claiming that low-income and minority communities are disproportionately affected by pollution from gas-powered vehicles.
ƵThe pollution from vehicles powered by fossil fuels has long harmed the health of communities around our country Ƶ communities overlooked and underserved,Ƶ she said in 2021.
ƵBut there is a solution to this problem. Ƶ Electric cars, trucks, and buses.Ƶ
So, whatƵs behind HarrisƵs shift on gas-powered vehicles? Americans donƵt want EVs.
ƵItƵs become very clear in the last year or two that thereƵs a lot of consumers that just donƵt really want electric vehicles,Ƶ said Kenny Stein, vice president of policy at the Institute for Energy Research.
About 14 million new cars were sold in the United States in 2022, and 1.6 million were EVs. Many of those sales came with generous federal and state tax subsidies. Ƶ more Americans become familiar with electric vehicle technology, their interest in owning an EV is fading.
The 2024 Mobility Consumer Index found that only 34% of U.S. consumers plan to buy an electric vehicle Ƶ fully battery or hybrid Ƶfor their next car. ThatƵs down from 48% a year earlier.
Meanwhile, the Biden-Harris administration has continued to pursue policies to push Americans into EVs. The Environmental Protection Agency wants tailpipe emissions standards that will make gas-powered cars impossible to manufacture.
The EPAƵs emissions standards mean that gas-powered cars can make up no more than 30% of auto sales by 2032.
ƵMake no mistake: This is a coerced phase-out of gas-powered cars,Ƶ the Wall Street Journal wrote.
Meanwhile, taxpayers who donƵt drive EVs pay taxes to subsidize their sales.
According to the Texas Public Policy Foundation, direct state and federal subsidies for EVs average $8,984 per vehicle over 10 years.
To achieve the EPA and HarrisƵs goals, billions more taxpayer subsidies will be required. And most environmentalists concede that, regardless of HarrisƵs protestations that if you like your car, you can keep your car, regulations that keep gas-powered vehicles off the market will be needed, too.
The costs are already rising. The Inflation Reduction Act was primarily a green subsidy program. The Tax Foundation estimates that, over the next decade, its energy tax credits are likely to cost more than $1 trillion.
ƵThe IRAƵs credits for electric vehicles and charging infrastructure in particular are proving to be much more costly than anticipated, costing about $180 billion over the next decade,Ƶ it reports.
In September, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., called out the Biden-Harris Ƶradical rush-to-green energy agenda.Ƶ
ƵThe EPAƵs latest tailpipe emissions rule is not really about reducing air pollution Ƶ itƵs about forcing Americans to drive electric vehicles.Ƶ
