The Biden administration’s electric vehicle rollout has been at the center of scrutiny and political opposition as the executive branch continues to release guidance outlining how to implement its climate policies. And with the election year kicking off, the pressure doesn’t seem to be letting up.
One of the first votes of the year is a disapproval resolution to overturn the Biden administration’s decision to waive “Buy America” requirements for government-funded electric chargers — a move that has received flak from both Republicans and Democrats alike, who argue the waiver serves as a giveaway to China, the leader in the electric vehicle and battery industry.
The measure passed the House on Thursday 209-198, with just two Democrats voting with Republicans to pass the measure. Two Republicans voted against the resolution. The disapproval resolution was supposed to be voted on the day before, but House Republicans voted down a procedural step to bring the bill to the floor over disagreements with leadership on government spending.
The disapproval resolution will likely face an ax from the White House, like many other Republican-led measures — but the bill underscores the messaging efforts of Republicans to tie the Biden administration’s climate rollout to strengthening China’s economy.
The Buy America provisions, which were enacted by the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure bill, require federal projects such as electric vehicle chargers to obtain at least 55% of the construction materials from domestic sources and be totally manufactured in the United States. However, the Federal Administration issued a temporary waiver to suspend the 55% requirement until July of this year — to which the Department of Transportation will then begin phasing out the waivers.
“We know the Biden administration’s priority is to pour billions into green energy and clean cars, but by rushing to meet arbitrary green and climate agendas, the United States is more likely to solidify China’s control of our energy future rather than save the planet,” Rep. Erin Houchin (R-IN.), a member of the House Rules Committee, said during floor remarks on Wednesday.
While the waiver has sparked divide between the parties, some experts say the waiver is pragmatic, considering the supply constraints on materials needed to build out electric vehicle chargers. The temporary waiver would allow for a bigger and faster deployment of chargers at a more reasonable cost — and would be eased as manufacturing capacity increases.
“If you kill that waiver, maybe the installation of chargers will be a bit slower or expensive, and then that kind of pulls away … a bit of that appeal of moving to an electric vehicle,” said Tom Moerenhout, a research scholar for Columbia’s Center on Global Energy Policy.
The Biden administration has set ambitious goals of having 50% of all new electric vehicle sales by 2030 and has allocated billions of dollars to support the buildout of the technology and its supporting infrastructure, as well as enacting tax credits to be more accessible to consumers. However, the EV transition has been anything but smooth; squeezed supply chains and competition for critical minerals to build the cars have restricted the U.S. from deploying the technologies as fast as they may want. And as the country looks to build out its domestic manufacturing capacity for cars and batteries, there will still be reliance on countries that have been able to dominate the supply chain through mining and processing of the necessary critical minerals — namely, China.
A quarterly report from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation underlined the lack of public charging infrastructure in the U.S., noting that current chargers are at 12% of what is estimated to be necessary to reach the country’s EV goals by 2030. In order to support projected sales, it said, 414 chargers will need to be installed every day for the next 7.2 years — or nearly three chargers every 10 minutes through the end of 2030.
Lust last month, the House passed a measure that would have banned the Environmental Protection Agency from finalizing a rule imposing emission standards for certain vehicles. Last year, the House also moved a measure aiming at state-led efforts to increase electric vehicle sales. Both pieces of legislation stalled in the Senate.
The majority of Democrats opposed Thursday’s disapproval resolution, arguing its implementation would have the opposite effect of its intent and lead to fewer U.S.-made chargers. They reasoned that if the rule were overturned, EV chargers would revert under the FHWA’s general waiver for manufactured products, which exempts highway infrastructure from domestic sourcing requirements.
“It would be a poor market signal to the industry, and could possibly lead manufacturers to move their supply chains abroad,” said Darien Davis, a government affairs advocate on climate and clean energy for the League of Conservation Voters.
The disapproval resolution, which was introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and other Republicans under the Congressional Review Act, passed the Senate back in November. Democratic Sens. Sherrod Brown (OH), Joe Manchin (WV), and Jon Tester (MT), as well as Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (AZ) joined Republicans to pass the measure. Republicans, along with the Democrats, hammered the Biden administration for the waiver’s issuance, underscoring how the policy could give way to supporting China’s economy.
“Part of that is true. But I put the question differently: if you know that China is a decade ahead, trying to close that gap in two years with a level of realism … that’s pro-China?” Moerenhout said. “No, I think it’s just being realistic about the global supply chain. You’re behind – period.”
Still, the political opposition is expected to remain strong on both sides. Manchin, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman, and a staunch critic of the Biden administration, has repeatedly called out the White House for its energy policies — most notably, its electric vehicle tax guidance, which he argues will increase the U.S.’s reliance on Beijing. The committee held a hearing on Thursday to examine the incentives while exploring the federal government’s role in “fostering reliable and resilient Electric Vehicle supply chains.” The hearing could potentially touch on the Made in America waiver.
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Some industrial groups, such as the Alliance of American Manufacturing, had called on lawmakers to oppose the legislation, stating the measure would result in a “step backward” and undermine investment efforts.
“The Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) is concerned that S.J.Res.38 will result in a step backward, effectively eliminating Buy America coverage for electric vehicle (EV) chargers purchased with federal assistance and upsetting market signals that are already driving significant U.S. factory investments,” Scott N. Paul, President of the alliance, said in a December letter.
