(The Center Square) – More than $100 million in electric vehicle subsidies would go to gas-powered vehicles built in America if U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance gets his way.
Vance wants to eliminate President Joe Biden’s plan for $100 million in federal electric vehicle subsidies and replace it with taxpayer subsidies for gas-powered vehicles. He says it will help current striking United Auto Workers members.
“Right now, the official policy of the Biden administration is to spend billions of dollars on subsidies for electric vehicles made overseas,” said Vance, R-Ohio. “If we’re subsidizing anything, it ought to be Ohio workers – not the green energy daydreams that are offshoring their jobs to China. We can secure a bright future for American autoworkers by passing this legislation and reversing the misguided policies of the Biden administration.”
Vance says his plan – America First Vehicle Credit – builds on former President Donald Trump’s U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. It would give up to $7,500 in tax credits for new gas- or diesel-powered vehicles, including hybrids, based on a vehicle’s payload and seating capacity.
The vehicle must be assembled in the United States with American parts by “highly paid” U.S. workers.
The credits apply to individuals earning less than $150,000 a year or married couples earning less than $300,000 annually.
The bill would also repeal EV tax credits created in or expanded by the Inflation Reduction Act.
Vance has consistently blamed the near two-week-old UAW strike that impacts 40 factories across the country on Biden’s electric vehicle policies. Earlier, he called on UAW leadership to use its leverage to force Biden to stop subsidizing the EV industry.
