Gary Palmer: ‘The Biden administration’s EV mandate will weaken our supply chain and increase costs for American families’

U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer is blasting the Biden administration over it’s electric vehicle mandate that he believes will just exacerbate inflation.

“The Biden administration’s EV mandate will weaken our supply chain and increase costs for American families,” Palmer said.

The Biden administration's EV mandate will weaken our supply chain and increase costs for American families.

Proud to join the letter by @RepFeenstra and @MikeCrapo demanding an end to this disastrous mandate. https://t.co/LnWwhOxbT6

— Gary Palmer (@USRepGaryPalmer) July 2, 2024

“Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles – Phase 3” is a mandate that will require substantial emissions reductions from the heavy-duty trucking sector beginning in 2026 for model year 2027 vehicles.

U.S. Reps. Gary Palmer (R-Hoover), Robert Aderholt (R-Haleyville), Jerry Carl (R-Mobile), Barry Moore (R-Enterprise), and U.S. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) joined 147 other Republican lawmakers in a letter to Environmental Protection Agency administrator Michael Regan about the issue.

“This final rule, which encompasses heavy-duty vehicles ranging from delivery trucks and school buses to tractors and semis, would disrupt the heavy-duty truck industry by forcing the broad adoption of heavy-duty zero emission vehicles on an extremely aggressive timeline, despite these vehicles currently being less than 1% of sales,” the lawmakers said. “According to a recent study, it would cost nearly $1 trillion in infrastructure investment alone to fully electrify the U.S. commercial fleet, which does not include the expense of purchasing new semis. Additionally, the cost for an electric semi-truck averages over $400,000 while a comparable diesel Class 8 truck costs around $180,000 – meaning electric trucks cost an average of 122% more than a normal semi.”

The members of Congress also highlighted the damaging effects the mandate will have on Alabama’s farm industry.

“Our farmers and agricultural industry will be especially hurt by this new mandate, the letter said. “According to the latest agriculture census by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, there are 3,161,820 trucks (including pickups) on over 1.4 million farms and 3,784,743 tractors on over 1.5 million farms that would see higher equipment costs and tighter margins due to this misguided rule. These numbers also do not account for the small, independent truckers, trucking companies, and truck dealerships throughout the U.S. that will be impacted. Not only would this rule harm consumers, but it would also exacerbate consolidation by effectively forcing our small trucking companies out of business that cannot afford this hasty transition to electric or hydrogen powered trucks.”

The lawmakers concluded that the new rule must be changed immediately.

“Therefore, we urge you to withdraw your final rule that is both unrealistic and burdensome,” the letter said. “This rule will only further increase costs for American families, businesses, and rural communities while fueling more inflation. We need to give Americans a choice in the cars and trucks that they drive, and affordability and performance for the trucking industry is paramount.”

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee