President Joe Biden made the case for his $174 billion electric vehicle plan on Tuesday, calling for government grants for new battery production facilities during a visit to a Ford Motor electric-vehicle plant in Michigan.
Gavino Garay reports.
"Ok, here we go.
Are you ready?" U.S. President Joe Biden took his electric vehicle plan to the test track in Michigan on Tuesday, where he hit the accelerator of Ford’s new electric F-150 lightning truck, during a visit where he touted a plan to invest in American electric automakers.
The electric Ford truck – still camouflaged ahead of its official reveal on Wednesday.
“This sucker’s quick.” Biden was at Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn to make the case for his $174 billion electric vehicle plan, calling for government grants for new battery production facilities.
"We're going to set a new pace for electric vehicles." Biden vowed to reverse what he called the Trump administration's "short-sighted" rollback of vehicle emissions standards while pushing for passage of his ambitious $2.3 trillion jobs and infrastructure bill.
“They announced ‘infrastructure week’, and they announced it, and announced it, and announced it, and announced it every week for four years and they didn’t do a damn thing.” Biden argued the United States is falling behind China, which is selling more electric vehicles.
"The real question is whether we'll lead or we'll fall behind in the race for the future, or whether we will build these vehicles and the batteries that go in them here in the United States or rely on other countries." The centerpiece of Biden's EV plan is $100 billion in consumer rebates.
Biden backs a further $10 billion in new tax credits for zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty work vehicles.
The White House also wants to encourage new battery production facilities, which are key to ramping up U.S. electric vehicle manufacturing, and to build 500,000 EV charging stations by 2030.
Biden is pushing for electric vehicles in the auto industry's heartland, trying to win over auto workers worried that more electric cars and trucks will mean fewer jobs.
But Biden faces resistance from congressional Republicans who are set to release a counterproposal to Biden's infrastructure plan this week.
