Providing for Consideration of H.R. Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. LANGWORTHY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me some time today. I rise in support of this legislation that will put a full stop to my own State of New York from banning affordable, reliable gas-powered vehicles.

Last year, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that New York State--not to be outdone by Democrats in California--would move forward with a ban on the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035.

Mr. Speaker, this asinine approach is only the latest in a long list of actions taken by the Biden administration and by Democrats in my own State to foist new bans, regulations, and costs onto the backs of hardworking middle-class Americans.

My colleagues on the other side of the aisle, they want the American people to believe that ditching our internal combustion engines for battery-powered cars is a silver bullet to a greener, cleaner future.

My constituents in rural upstate New York are facing energy costs that are 30 percent higher than previous years, and those costs are projected only to increase further and further.

Rural towns and communities in western New York and the Southern Tier along the Pennsylvania border, they cannot survive on transportation that is solely battery powered, given the long distances driven, charger accessibility, and lack of reliability that comes with the current crop of EVs.

Last week, President Biden's own Energy Secretary Granholm put on a master class on the issues rural Americans will face, from failing to find working charging stations to long wait times. Her EV road trip was a total disaster. It was like an episode of ``Veep,'' and we cannot make this a reality of everyday Americans.

Not only is it costly, not only is it impractical, but our electric grids are not capable of handling this latest burden. The latest reports by New York's own independent service operator show that New York State's electrical grid is strained and approaching a breaking point as Governor Hochul and Democrats in Albany ban everything connected to fossil fuels, from stoves to cars to natural gas hookups in buildings and private homes.

It is very simple, Mr. Speaker--banning gas vehicles forces New Yorkers and Californians, and one day all Americans if we keep going down this path, to live in an energy future that is less affordable, less safe, and more dependent than ever on our most dangerous adversary--China.

I strongly support this underlying legislation today and this rule as a step towards ensuring America does not follow the lead of the radical left in California, and New York. Let's put a stop to these nonsensical bans that only benefit our foreign adversaries while making life much harder for everyday Americans.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, as I noted, the existing rule allows choice in each State. What works for California may or may not work for New Mexico or other States like New York, but that is why the Clean Air Act built in flexibility. We should allow California and those States that choose to follow their lead to continue to adopt stricter vehicle standards that work for them.

I also want to make a point that car makers make business plans several years in the future. For Congress to come in and change the setting of what is happening--because right now 75 percent of vehicles sold with low emissions are being manufactured here in America--is creating culture wars that also hurt our industry workers.

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