Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday hit the brakes hard on her previous support for banning gasoline-powered cars, pledging that she will “never” tell Americans “what car you have to drive.”
Harris, 59, made the remark during a campaign rally in Flint, Mich., where she also promised to “retool existing factories” and push policies that support innovation in “advanced batteries” and “electric vehicles.”
“Michigan, let us be clear: Contrary to what my opponent is suggesting, I will never tell you what kind of car you have to drive,” the vice president said.
The vice president’s declaration is an apparent response to a Trump campaign ad running in Michigan, which claims, “Kamala Harris wants to end all gas powered cars.”
“Crazy but true,” the ad continues. “Harris’s push requiring electric-only is failing big and Michigan auto workers are paying the price.”
In her Senate days, Harris championed an electric-vehicle mandate – which her campaign now says she is opposed to.
As a California senator, the Democrat co-sponsored legislation in April 2019 that sought to ban the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles by 2040.
The Harris-backed Zero-Emission Vehicles Act of 2019 – introduced by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) – was announced as a “bold plan for transitioning the United States to 100% zero-emission vehicles.”
The bill would have forced automobile companies to transition away from fossil fuels by requiring 50% of new passenger vehicle sales be zero emission cars by 2030. The mandate would ramp up 5% each year until 2040, when 100% of new vehicles sold would be required to be electric or hydrogen powered.
“After model year 2040, the [Environmental Protection Agency] Administrator may issue an injunction on the manufacture of any passenger vehicles other than zero emission vehicles by a vehicle manufacturer,’’ reads the text of the proposed legislation supported by Harris.
When Harris launched her short-lived 2020 White House bid, her campaign website promoted even more aggressive standards – pushing for a ban of internal combustion engine cars by 2035, according to the Washington Free Beacon.
In March, the Harris-Biden administration finalized a crackdown on gas cars, pushing the EPA to enact regulations that are expected to result in more than two-thirds of passenger cars and light trucks sold by 2032 to be electric or hybrid vehicles.
The EPA rule tailpipe-pollution limits will see 56% of new vehicles sold in the US be electric by 2032 and 13% plug-in hybrids or other partially electric cars – despite the relatively low demand.
“But here’s what I will do,” Harris told her Michigan supporters. “I will invest in communities like Flint. We will retool existing factories, hire locally and work with unions to create good paying jobs.”
“Under my plan, we will invest in the industries that built America, like steel, iron and the great American auto industry,” the Democratic nominee said. “And we will ensure that the next generation of breakthroughs, from advanced batteries to electric vehicles, are not only invented but built right here in America, by American union workers.”
Michigan, a crucial swing state, has 15 Electoral College votes up for grabs in November.
The latest RealClearPolitics average of polls shows Harris leading Trump in the Wolverine State by less than a percentage point.
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