Being an environmentally friendly person is not easy.
Vice President Kamala Harris advocated for a ban on gasoline-powered cars when she was a senator, but her campaign argued Tuesday that she now opposes an electric vehicle mandate, another backslide by the California Democrat and perhaps her biggest yet.
In an email to Fact Check, Amar Moosa, emergency operations director for the Harris campaign, denied claims by former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), that VP Harris is ready to “force every American to own an electric vehicle.”
“Fact: VP Harris does not support an electric vehicle mandate,” Moussa wrote.
The letter also touted the Harris-Biden administration's so-called Beat Inflation Act, claiming it “provides groundbreaking subsidies and tax credits for electric vehicles.”
The “fact check” omitted the fact that Harris, 59, co-sponsored a bill in April 2019 that sought to ban the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles by 2040.
Harris supports Zero Emission Vehicle Act 2019 The bill, introduced by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.), was presented as a “bold plan to transition America to 100% zero-emission vehicles.”
The bill would force automakers to move away from fossil fuels by requiring 50% of new passenger car sales to be zero-emission vehicles by 2030. The requirement would increase by 5% each year until 2040, when 100% of new cars sold would have to be electric or hydrogen-powered.
“From the 2040 model onwards, [Environmental Protection Agency] “The Administrator may issue an injunction preventing an auto manufacturer from producing any passenger vehicle that is not a zero-emission vehicle,” a provision in the Harris-backed bill reads.
Harris, who announced her 2020 presidential candidacy, laid out even more aggressive standards on her campaign website, pushing for a ban on internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035. Washington Free Beacon.
The Biden-Harris administration finalized its crackdown on gasoline-powered vehicles in March, forcing the EPA to enact rules that will result in more than two-thirds of cars and light trucks sold being electric or hybrid by 2032.
Despite relatively low demand due to EPA emissions regulations, by 2032, 56% of new cars sold in the U.S. will be electric vehicles, and 13% will be plug-in hybrids or other part-electric vehicles.
Harris, who replaced President Biden as the leading 2024 Democratic presidential candidate last month, has been criticized for repeatedly changing her stance on a number of issues since joining the race against President Trump in an attempt to gain the support of more voters, including supporting Medicare for All, banning fracking and legalizing illegal immigration.
In both cases, Harris' revised positions were announced by her campaign, rather than confirmed by the vice president herself.
