JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey joined a 25 state coalition in challenging the Biden Administration’s proposed plan to forcibly phase out gas-powered vehicles and restructure the automobile industry around electric vehicles (EVs) at a breakneck pace. The draconian proposal aims to boost certain EV sales from 8.4 percent of total vehicle sales today to 67 percent by 2032.
“I will always fight to combat government overreach, and that includes pushing back against Joe Biden’s attack on gas-powered vehicles,” said Attorney General Bailey. “The Biden Administration is looking to singlehandedly bankrupt working Americans and threaten our national security with its latest radical climate plan, and my office isn’t standing for it.”
In the letter to Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Attorney General Bailey notes that phasing out gas-powered vehicles would damage the economy, undermine the reliability of electrical grids, tax working families and businesses who depend on them, and threaten national security.
The letter asserts that the aggressive shift to EVs is counterproductive and misguided, as America’s power grids not only lack the capacity to accommodate the proposed rule’s new demands, but also lack the ability to handle them safely.
The letter highlights how the Biden Administration’s fast-and-furious approach to electrification will have devastating consequences for the automotive supply chain. Biden’s plan would force America to be dependent on foreign adversaries like China, which supplies many of the minerals necessary for electric vehicles.
The average EV sold for $61,448 at the end of 2022. Americans already face record inflation, historic gasoline prices, and high utility bills. Since President Biden took office, food prices are up over 18 percent, and energy prices are up over 37 percent. Home prices have also surged more than 27 percent in fewer than three years. Many consumers are unable to afford EVs in the current economy, making President Biden’s plan even more unfeasible.
This is only the latest action Attorney General Bailey has taken to push back against the Biden Administration’s radical climate agenda. To date, his office has opposed Biden’s efforts to restrict gas stoves, refrigerators, and dishwashers. He also filed suit against the EPA’s rule allowing California to illegally ban existing tractor-trailers and heavy-duty vehicles by forcing truckers to buy zero-emission trucks.
Missouri is joined in sending the letter by Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
The full letter can be read here: https://ago.mo.gov/docs/default-source/press-releases/tailpipe-emissions-comment-(final)-(with-signatures).pdf?sfvrsn=7ac67008_2