Finally, Congress is moving to check out-of-control regulators.
The Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act, which would keep the EPA from using Clean Air Act waivers in support of states banning internal combustion engines, has passed the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment in the US House of Representatives. So did the “Choice in Automobile Retail Sales Act” in response to the EPA’s strict emissions standards for the 2027 to 2032 vehicle model years. I believe both are an important step forward in stopping federal agencies from working with state governments to corral consumers into a specific vehicle propulsion technology.
Ford’s CEO has admitted EVs will cost many workers their jobs.
Both House bills are supported by SEMA, which teamed up with over 100 stakeholder organizations to send a letter to President Joe Biden about the EPA’s proposed standards. Understandably, they and many others both inside and outside the auto industry are concerned about the government limiting vehicle choice. I personally know enthusiasts who are scared of what they think is an unstoppable eventuality and are scared to speak up for fear they will be “cancelled.” I wish I could tell them their fears are completely divorced from reality.
A companion Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act was introduced to the US Senate on July 26 by Senator Markwayne Mullin and several other Republicans. They’re serious about limiting the actions of the EPA, something which is well within the purview of Congress. Why it’s taken so long for lawmakers to act is a question worth asking. But for now, I’m glad someone is finally making a move to check the Executive Branch.
“California’s waivers are not about clean energy, they are about control,” Mullin said in a statement to Fox News Digital. I couldn’t agree more. While it’s great if people want to buy EVs, forcing everyone to do the same because of a fear of carbon emissions and supposed environmental collapse is extreme. That would be like firing people for not getting experimental gene therapy.
Yes, I know, the science has been settled and so that justifies making people “do the right thing.” Funny enough, at every level of my education, including post-graduate, the scientists who taught me forgot to include the duty of scaring everyone from questioning and scrutinizing methodologies and conclusions as a key step in the scientific method. In fact, two of my esteemed educators explicitly told me scientists are bad at making policy decisions and politicians are great at twisting scientific data to support their agenda.
If we’ve learned anything from recent “scientific” pushes to get everyone to engage in certain health practices, it’s that there’s a portion of the population which loves to compel or control everyone else as a means to appear virtuous. The same thing happens in religion and every other endeavor in life, almost as if that’s an unpleasant part of human nature against which we must always guard. Forcing others to buy EVs because you’re convinced the world is ending isn’t something federal regulators should have free reign to enforce. Congress acting has been long overdue.
Here’s to hoping these bills become laws and as consumers we all enjoy a free marketplace full of options, instead of being corralled into one very expensive and questionable option.
Images via GM, Ford, Toyota
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