Tuberville cosponsors bill to counter Biden’s electric vehicle push

In an effort to push back on what he has called President Joe Biden’s “extreme electric vehicle mandate,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville has cosponsored legislation that would prevent a proposed rule and various other regulations from going into effect that would limit consumer vehicle choice throughout the country.

“Working families are already struggling under Joe Biden’s inflation, at a cost of nearly $1,000 a month,” said Tuberville. “Now Joe Biden is trying to force them to buy electric vehicles, which cost about $60,000 on average. The American people can’t afford this. Electric vehicles might be a good choice in San Francisco, but we shouldn’t force them on Alabama.”

The Choice in Automobile Retail Sales (CARS) Act would:

  • prohibit the EPA from finalizing, implementing or enforcing its proposed
    emissions rule
  • prohibit the use of authority under the Clean Air Act to issue regulations
    that mandate the use of any specific technology or that limit the availability of
    new motor vehicles based on that vehicle’s engine type. This includes any
    regulation prescribed on or after Jan. 1, 2021
  • require the EPA to update any regulations since Jan. 1, 2021, that result
    in the limited availability of new vehicles based on that vehicle’s engine within
    two years

The Environmental Protection Agency issued a draft rule this year, titled “Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards for Model Year 2027 and Later Light-Duty and Medium-Duty Vehicles,” which sets strict emissions standards for criteria pollutants and greenhouse gasses for certain vehicles.

Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News.