House Democrats introduced a plan this week that they say is designed to help the United States cut greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent by 2050.
Included in the plan, which was announced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), are a number of policies pertaining to electric vehicle sales and tax credits. One measure in the plan would require automakers to sell only electric vehicles by 2035. It’s not clear if this would also apply to fleet sales, but it did suggest that all heavy-duty trucks sold by 2040 should be electric as well.
Additionally, the plan proposed expanding the electric vehicle tax credit system. Under the current system, buyers are entitled to receive up to $7,500 in tax rebates when they purchase an electric vehicle, however automakers can only sell 200,000 EVs before the incentive runs out. General Motors and Tesla both ran through the 200,000 limit last year. The Democrats’ policy recommendations entail raising the cap to over 200,000.
The plan, which is over 500 pages in length, also includes policy recommendations pertaining to utilities, solar and wind tax credits, carbon emissions, methane limits and energy efficiency in buildings. It recommends doubling the federal investment in public transprotation infrastructure, as well.
Castor told The Washington Post this week that the policy recommendations are intended as a framework for the future should the power balance in Congress shift.
“We’re going to press ahead with everything we can do in the near term,” Castor said. “But yes, it will provide a plan that can be taken off the shelf and adopted into law as soon as we are able to reconvene.”
The Democrats also said the policy recommendations “satisfy the scientific and moral imperatives to reduce carbon pollution and as quickly and aggressively as possible make communities more resilient to the impacts of climate change.”
The Republican party responded to the plan when speaking to The Washington Post this week, pointing out that many greenhouse gas emissions do not come from within America.
“Over 90 percent of all emissions will soon originate outside U.S. borders,” the GOP said in a statement. “More than 105 percent of emissions growth will come from China and developing economies.”
While some automakers, GM included, are already working on new electric vehicles, many are a long way off from having the means to produce solely electric vehicles. Developing an electric heavy-duty truck appropriate for fleet use will be another hurdle for manufacturers, though its EV programs could be bolstered by additional sales brought by the expanded tax incentive program.
Subscribe to GM Authority for more General Motors-related politics news, General Motors legal news and around-the-clock General Motors news coverage.
Comments
This bill is DOA
How many pushing this mandate will actually drive one?
Green New Deal they’re trying to force on the citizens…. Democrats are about power and control.
Do as “I” say, not as I do… then accuse others of what they themselves are doing…. cowards everyone…..
“Democrats are about power and control.” You are forgetting that the Republicans already have it and are still doing it. Especially that idiotic POTUS!
The only idiot is you NonPointless…. enjoy your hate and anger because MAGA is erasing Barry Soetoro and Quid Pro Joe…
Its not Democrats anymore the real party died November 22 1963. Today its the Satan party Demo-rats. Sad to say
They have had their seed money. It is now up to the MFGs to deliver cars peop,Ev would want to buy.
Top twenty worst cities run by democrats. Clueless. AOC wants her farting car cow. Listen to a bartender people.
What always seems to be missing from the equation is the pollution caused by mining of material, manufacturing, and later disposing of lithium ion batteries. This isn’t about substance, only optics.
If Congress eliminated oil subsidies and let gas prices get regulated by the market, then all that Congress money can be used to clean our environment and support more non-combustion cars, such as electric and fuel cell power. At least Ford is helping with new hybrids, and some new electrics. And if you ask, I have placed my reservation for the electric Mustang Mach-E.
Remove all oil subsidies, tax cars by the miles they are driven, add a carbon tax and see if that helps.
I don’t believe in banning gas cars when there is a good alternative, just tax fossil fuels for all the damage they cos and the market will adjust.
We should also make the only taxes on oil be to mitigate the damage to the environment not to pay for the roads, taxing cars by the mile will pay for the roads.
” “More than 105 percent of emissions growth will come from China and developing economies.”. That GOP spokesperson is not up to date about China. They are making and buying more electrics than all of the other nations combines. And GM is one of those electric manufacturers in China. But most U.S. buyers don’t believe in electric power, giving such lame excuses such as lack of charging (every home has electric power), prices (most gas imports are more expensive than domestic electrics), and lack of power (all electrics have more torque than equal sized gas cars, and an electric F-150 truck pulled 1.4 million pounds of train cars). Yet they say they don’t see the real future of electric power, but they are already in that future.
Gas powered cars are obsolete and don’t belong in the 21st century!
Everyone has an opinion and an @$$ hole… thanks for the confirmation… by the way China = shut off the power = shut off the mobility of the people”…. nice to know you’re on their side comrade…
Both Parties in the United States are bought and paid for by Big Oil unfortunately.
I personally do not care which Political Party everyone here supports all I will say is that I hope this does Pass. Not for Political Party reasons at all but for the betterment of Our Companies.
It will be the ONLY way our Big Three will be able to survive in the Future. Almost All of Europe will be 100% EV’s by 2032 and China by 2030. Guess why that is….It is because of Regulations. Remember that most in China and Europe live in Apartments and do not have Home Charging. It is that their Infrastructure is getting built up at a Rapid pace.
Ford, Chrysler, and GM cannot continue to split their R&D Budget on two completely different Propulsion Systems. They will never be able to compete with the Full EV Companies.
I understand that some for whatever reason have still not accepted that EV’s are going to happen and overtake ICE but it will happen. As a HUGE GM Fan I want them to be the best at it and that can only happen with Regulation in this Country unfortunately. Gasoline is so Subsidized by the US that it is cheap as hell so most will not sit down and do the actual Math of just how much money EV’s will save us in the Future. Oh and time. Lots of time. No more trips to the Dealer for no reason at all other than to waste half a day to change Oil. And for House Owners or for Bigger Business’s that have EV Chargers no more stops to Fuel up. Software updates all the time like our Cell Phones.
Much faster cars than their ICE comparison. Like why drive a tiny 3 Cylinder engine that is a Dog when I can drive an EV that will blow it out of the Water. Makes Zero sense.
Oh and the biggest thing is that it will become so cheap to produce and manufacture EV’s that it will literally make no sense to build ICE except of bigger vehicles that will be mostly Niche and overpriced.
The Next 10 years are extremely Crucial for our Big Three. Mostly for Ford and GM and FCA was basically taken over by PSA.
I personally still think ICE will be around and will become very Niche.
500 Page Bill? Please pass it and then read it! (signed) Nancy.
Drop the $7500. credits (and any other EV credits) and see how many electrics sell.
Well lets see. GM and literally the rest of the Auto Industry was down between 20 to 30 percent this Quarter.
There was one Company that Rocked it though. Would you like to take a guess who that was and what type of vehicles they sell?
It isn’t that EV’s are unwanted it is that ONLY Tesla makes EV’s that are amazing and far ahead of any other Auto Makers offerings. Take a look at the C – Class, 3 Series, and A4 sales the last year or so compared to The Tesla Model 3. It is not even close.
And Tesla hasn’t had EV Credits for a year now but they keep selling more and more and more. They literally cannot make their cars fast enough.
It is still comical to me that people on this site have yet to figure out how much cheaper it will be to produce EV’s compared to ICE in the Future that it will literally make zero sense for Auto Makers to try and Keep ICE Cars legal under the regulations. Think about it this way…It keeps getting cheaper to produce EV’s and at the same time it keeps getting more expensive to make ICE vehicles. That is about as simple as I can make it.
I don’t want GM to become the next Nokia.
Oh and whether we like it or not, Europe and China have spoken….ICE is pretty much dead by 2030. So you guys think that GM can compete by splitting their Future R&D money?
Yes vote Democrat and watch what happens to that tax credit your paycheck has been enjoying the past 3.5 years. See how much less you bring home due to raised taxes. See how unaffordable cars and trucks become. Watch how they force electric cars down our throats whether we want them or not. Watch how gas prices will spike to all time highs. These are not the same Democrats I knew growing up 30-40 years ago. Why should the tax payers keep pitching in for this tax credit? Let the consumers decide what they want and can afford and offer both types of vehicles.