Biden Administration

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, one final matter. Tomorrow, President Biden will visit an electric manufacturing facility in Michigan, where a major American auto company is set to unveil its new electric-- electric--pickup truck.

Tomorrow's announcement is a significant breakthrough. Because it is one of the bestselling cars in America, the success of an electric pickup could hasten our Nation's transition to a cleaner, brighter, and stronger transportation future.

And personally, I am very happy to see the Biden administration put a spotlight on zero-emission vehicles. This is an issue I have been working on for a very long time, and something I am passionate about. No matter how you look at the data, there is no way that America can meet our targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions without looking at how we drive. Transportation accounts for nearly one-third of America's carbon outlook. And while the transition to electric vehicles is already underway, it is progressing too slowly.

That is why almost 2 years ago I developed and introduced an ambitious new proposal to rapidly phase out gas-powered vehicles and replace them with clean cars. All told, the object of the plan--called Clean Cars for America--is that by 2040, all vehicles on the road should be clean. I am delighted that President Biden has put this proposal in his build back America infrastructure plan.

Through a mixture of credits and investments, it would make electric vehicles affordable for all Americans, provide incentives to trade in older gas vehicles, build the necessary charging infrastructure, and, very importantly, create tens of thousands of good-paying union jobs in automaking, construction, and battery manufacturing.

What distinguishes this proposal is its ability to unite the environmental movement, the labor movement, and the large automakers.

Isn't that a great thing? We used to have the environmental proposals and work and union proposals conflict--no more because we are taking each other's needs into account. This bill has already earned the support of the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the League of Conservation Voters, the UAW, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and car manufacturers like Ford and General Motors are supportive as well.

So you have the whole span. Something like this should pass with a lot of votes, I hope. And I was very proud to see President Biden put my Clean Cars for America proposal at the heart of his American jobs plan.

In recent weeks, the virtue of such a plan has been made apparent to millions of drivers and not just for climate-saving reasons. The gasoline shortages along the eastern seaboard, though temporary, revealed, once again, that electric vehicles can be more reliable. For EVs, the price and availability of fuel does not depend on the ebb and flow of fossil fuel discovery, the volatility of international markets, or panics, like the one we just saw.

On every front--on jobs, American economic leadership, protecting the planet--transitioning to a clean car future provides benefits. In the 20th century, America led the way in auto manufacturing. If we fall behind on electric cars, we will no longer lead the way. But this legislation has us staying No. 1 and producing lots of good-paying jobs--hallelujah.

So as the President prepares to go to Michigan for this important announcement, we should also be talking about making a larger scale, ambitious effort to speed our country's transition to zero-emission vehicles. Clean Cars for America is the way to do it.

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