In a recent hearing before the House Oversight Committee, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg aptly refuted incorrect claims made by Republicans regarding electric vehicles.
According to an Advocate article, the purpose of the hearing was to scrutinize EV policies. Florida Republican U.S. Representative Aaron Bean challenged Secretary Buttigieg about the cost-effectiveness of EV tax rebates, asking if there would ever come a time when the Secretary would rethink the policies because they’re too expensive.
Buttigieg was quick to respond with, “If you think this is too expensive, wait until you find out how much oil and gas subsidies you’ve been supporting.” He added, “Also, wait until you find out the economic impact, that some economists have put at $15 million every hour, or every day, trillions of dollars every year from allowing the environmental conditions in this country and planet to worsen.”
As the hearing continued, House Republicans debated the Biden Administration regarding the future of energy use in the United States. Buttigieg handled the false claims of other Republicans with equal aptitude, shutting them down with clear facts. When Pennsylvania Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Perry brought up stats from a McKinsey study implying a “tailspin” in EV sales due to technical issues, Buttigieg swiftly countered that the study was an outlier.
Perry continued to push, asserting that Americans should be able to purchase any vehicle they choose and not be restricted by federal EV mandates. Buttigieg came back quickly once again with the facts: “There is no mandate. You can purchase a gas car if you want to pay gas prices at the pump, but if you don’t, you can purchase an EV with our help.”
Buttigieg also brought up the U.S. competition with China for leadership in the EV market and the economic value of coming out on top. Given the other stats he provided about our costly future if we don’t make bold switches to clean energy, he made it clear that the use of EVs is not only environmentally sound, but also imperative for improved economics.
With clean energy investments, updates in EV charging systems, and developments in EV batteries, the future of EVs is sailing forward, offering consumers better and more affordable products and helping us have a cleaner, safer future.
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