President Biden’s green energy agenda has landed him on Sen. Joni Ernst’s naughty list this holiday season.
The Iowa Republican is awarding Mr. Biden her “Squeal Award” for December, a monthly mission to identify where to “cut wasteful spending and make Washington squeal” for his massive electric vehicle charging program that’s only produced two charging stations in two years.
“It’s a good thing Santa’s sleigh is pulled by a team of reindeer and not an electric vehicle, or he would never complete his Christmas trip, especially if he was planning on using Biden’s battery chargers,” Ms. Ernst said.
The 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law established the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program known as NEVI, setting aside $5 billion to build new EV chargers along America’s sprawling interstate highway system toward Mr. Biden’s goal of installing 500,000 public charging ports by 2030.
The Biden administration celebrated the opening of the first two stations, which each contain multiple ports, in Ohio and New York last week.
Ms. Ernst called the program a “billion dollar Biden boondoggle” that “thus far hasn’t delivered on its wish list.”
“Only in Washington would spending billions of dollars to open just two charging stations be touted as a national success story,” she said.
Ms. Ernst also introduced legislation to rescind a combined $7.5 billion for EV charging from the infrastructure law — $5 billion from NEVI and another $2.5 billion from the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program.
The money is a major part of Mr. Biden’s climate change agenda that seeks to transition away from fossil fuels, including the transportation sector. The EPA is proposing stringent tailpipe emission rules that would require two-thirds of new vehicle sales to be electric by 2032.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Ms. Ernst’s “Squeal Award” is a riff off a promise she made in her 2014 campaign, saying she “grew up castrating hogs on an Iowa farm” and would similarly cut waste in Washington to “make ‘em squeal.”
Her June “Squeal Award” went to Biden climate czar John Kerry for the failure of Biden officials to keep track of their emissions caused by jetting around the globe.
To expedite the construction of new charging stations, the Biden administration temporarily waived so-called “Buy America” rules that require the taxpayer-funded projects to be supplied with domestic materials such as steel and iron intended to lessen U.S. dependency on China.
Republicans in Congress, with the help of some Democrats, are set to roll back the administration’s waiver. However, Mr. Biden’s veto is expected to ultimately prevail.
“If the parts aren’t made in America — as mandated by law — they aren’t going to be put together by Santa’s elves at the North Pole either,” Ms. Ernst said.