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Senior Republicans in Congress are once again attacking the Biden administration for its promotion of electric cars. This is the latest in a series of actions to push back against efforts to force businesses and drivers to abandon vehicles powered by fossil-fuels.

Democrats are also putting pressure on the administration for not making progress in building out charging infrastructure.

The bill, called the a href=”https://www.energy.senate.gov/2024/6/barrasso-senate-republicans-introducedbill to remedy doe’s flawed efficiency calculations for electric cars#::text=(R%2DLA)%2C%20introduced,for%20electric%20vehicles%20(EVs)”. was introduced by a group of senators. The effort, called the Recalculating Electric Vehicle Efficiency for Accuracy and Legitimacy Act, calls into question the department’s calculation related to petroleum-equivalent average fuel economy specific to electric vehicles. The senators point out that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) uses this data to set corporate fuel economy standards.

John Barrasso, R-Wyo., is the sponsor of the bill. Ranking member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. He and his co-sponsors argue that their intention is to prevent an uninformed mandate for the adoption of electric vehicles.

He said on June 11 that “no administration should be allowed to manipulate efficiency calculations for electric vehicles.” The REVEAL Act prevents the secretary of Energy from using these faulty calculation to prohibit the sale or gas or diesel powered cars or trucks. This is an important step to fight against the Biden Administration’s continued manipulation on the auto market. It will put Americans back in control.

No administration should have the ability to manipulate efficiency calculations for electric vehicles. I am introducing REVEAL to fight against the Biden Administration’s continued manipulation in the auto market. This will put Americans back into the driver’s seats. https://t.co/j8ZVIoRyp6 — Sen. John Barrasso (@SenJohnBarrasso) June 11, 2024

“For years, federal agencies exaggerated the efficiency of EVs in order to artificially encourage their adoption by American motorists.” It’s time for our government to be held accountable and to ensure Utahns are given accurate information so they can choose the best vehicle to suit their needs, not Washington bureaucrats’ preferences,” said Sen. Mike Lee (R – Utah), a co-lead sponsors along with Sens. James Risch from Idaho, John Cassidy from Louisiana, Cynthia Lummis from Wyoming, and John Hoeven from North Dakota.

The legislation would require that the secretary of energy ensure that the weight and class for EVs is comparable to those of gas- and diesel fuel-fueled vehicles, when calculating petroleum equivalent fuel economy calculations. According to the background information provided by the sponsors, the bill would also require officials to evaluate dynamics related to EV batteries, and establish coordination with Secretary of Transportation for some calculations relating to corporate average fuel economy standards, which dictates fuel efficiency benchmarks for passenger vehicles.

It is a huge administrative failure that, despite the fact that this bill was passed years ago, not one charging station in my state has been built and only seven sites, as you said, have been built around the country.

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.)

“The benefits of EVs seem illusionary at best. Our bill forces this administration into transparency by forcing the DOE to measure more accurately the relative efficiency of EVs, so the Biden Administration can no longer hide behind their unsubstantiated environment platitudes,” said Lummis. He is a member of Senate surface transportation and freight panels.

The legislation, referred for consideration to a committee, builds on repeated efforts made by mainly senior lawmakers to assess Biden’s administration’s progress in EVs and emerging transportation technologies. These concerns are becoming a bipartisan issue on Capitol Hill.

During a Senate Hearing this month, Sen. Jeff Merkley took issue with the implementation of EVs mandated by $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act 2021. The Oregon Democrat called the pace of a five-billion-dollar IIJA initiative to build a network of EV chargers “pathetic.”

ChargePoint EV Charging Stations along U.S. Route 50, Lamar, Colo. Rachel Ellis/Bloomberg News

Merkley said at a hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee this month that “the fact that we passed this legislation years ago and no charging station has been constructed in my state and seven, as you say, seven sites across the country – that is a huge administrative failure.” “I’m saying that people become very cynical after a vision has been laid out, and a vision finally passed by Congress, but then nothing is done. Let’s move more quickly.”

EPW Chairman Tom Carper, (D-Del. ) The EPW Chairman Tom Carper (D-Del.) acknowledged the growing bipartisan concern related to EVs, and pledged that he would consider scheduling an hearing to remedy specific problems with charging stations. According to FHWA background information, the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program created by IIJA is intended to provide funding for EV infrastructure. Bhatt, speaking to reporters after the hearing expressed optimism: “We are not where we all want to be.” We’re on target to meet the president’s goals.

More than 100 Republican members of Congress have officially expressed their opposition to the administration’s efforts to promote EVs on the market. Sens. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb. Dan Sullivan (R Alaska) and Reps. Russ Fulcher(R Idaho) and John James(R Michigan) led a procedure measure known as a Congressional Review Act Resolution that would pause the new federal emission rules for passenger and heavy duty vehicles. The resolution is gaining bipartisan support.

The Environmental Protection Agency published a rule earlier this year to dramatically increase the number of zero-emission cars by 2032. The trucking industry has repeatedly expressed concerns over the administration’s agenda. Executives have argued the industry would benefit from realistic timelines if regulators provided them with them.

“To be clear, the trucking industry does not oppose battery-electric vehicles. In a statement released in May, American Trucking Associations president Chris Spear stated that some fleets were testing them and the results so far are mixed. Early adopters of the technology have made it abundantly clear that the obstacles to widescale adoption were so massive and unavoidable that the timelines and targets set by EPA and California Air Resources Board are utterly disconnected with reality.

In a related move, the administration’s Joint Office of Energy and Transportation released a road map for reducing emissions incrementally through 2040. Officials from the administration said that the strategy would help to advance the adoption of zero emission Class 8 trucks.

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