The House of Representatives voted Thursday night to override President Biden's decision to waive “Buy America” requirements for taxpayer-funded electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.
The chamber voted 209-198, with 207 Republicans voting yes and two House Republicans, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, as well as Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Donald Davis of North Carolina. Joined by two House Democrats, they passed a resolution reversing the president's action. Tom McClintock of Pennsylvania and Tom McClintock of California joined the 196 Democrats who voted against it.
“To reverse Joe Biden's pro-communist Chinese domination that undermines U.S. companies that have invested heavily in EV manufacturing,” House Republican Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (RN.Y.) said in a statement. I voted,” he said. “Biden’s waiver of Buy America requirements will empower foreign adversaries like Communist China by funneling American taxpayers’ hard-earned tax dollars into foreign markets.”
“Joe Biden and his final American policy will invest taxpayer dollars faster in EV chargers made in Communist China than in products made in the United States,” she continued. “The Buy America clause is intended to support American companies and strengthen American manufacturing, but the pro-communist Chinese regime has no interest in either.”
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President Biden has set a goal of making 50% of car purchases electric by 2030. (Getty Images)
Thursday's vote will be in two months. After the Senate passes the resolution The bill was authored by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and introduced in July on a 50-48 vote with Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). Joe Manchin, Virginia, Virginia. Jon Tester, Democrat, Mont. and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona joins the Republican Party. The resolution will now be sent to Biden's desk, but the White House has said the president will veto it.
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Rubio's joint resolution would overturn the president's exemption from Buy America requirements for electric vehicle chargers. Rubio, the vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and other Republicans argued that the exemption would ultimately benefit Chinese manufacturers that control the EV charger supply chain.
In February 2023, the Department of Transportation (DOT) announced a final U.S. EV charger exemption rule that eliminates more stringent requirements and delays certain deadlines by several months, a major victory for green energy industry groups. . The exemption establishes manufacturing and assembly requirements for EV charging companies that qualify for millions of dollars in federal grants.
“This will lead to a world where every EV user can find a safe and reliable charging station no matter where they are in the country,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said after the Department of Transportation finalizes the exemption in February 2023. It's a big step towards that.” (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
This exemption is a modification of a more stringent proposal submitted by the DOT in August 2022. The proposed four-tier exemption would have eliminated all requirements immediately. It then required EV charger companies to assemble all products in the United States starting January 1, 2023. Starting July 1, 2023, we will manufacture chargers with at least 25% U.S.-made components at cost. Starting January 1, 2024, we will manufacture chargers with at least 55% U.S.-made components at cost.
The final waiver split the process into two stages and postponed key deadlines. The law requires EV charger companies to require that final assembly of their chargers occur in the U.S. and, starting July 1, 2024, the cost of U.S.-made components in their chargers will be 55% of the total product cost. It is compulsory to occupy the This exemption specifically eliminated the 25% domestic parts requirement. .
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“The bottom line is, if we're going to spend $5 billion of taxpayer money to build electric vehicle charging stations for America, it should be built by Americans in America, using American products.” Rubio said in a floor speech. November.
Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida is spearheading a resolution that would use the Congressional Review Act to overturn the Biden administration's waiver. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images)
The DOT waiver was finalized as part of the Biden administration's push for both countries. Expansion of EV manufacturing and the nationwide network of chargers needed to fuel zero-emission vehicles. Mr. Biden has set a goal of building an EV charging network of 500,000 chargers along U.S. highways and having 50% of all new vehicle sales be EVs by 2030.
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The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a major infrastructure package signed by Biden in 2021, allocates $7.5 billion for EV charging programs, and the Control Inflation Act of 2022 expands tax credits for EV and charger installations. There is.
