Midwest Lawmakers Push for Biofuel-Powered Vehicles in Mix of Biden Electric Vehicles

(NewsDakota.com/NAFB) Midwest lawmakers continue to push for inclusion of more biofuel vehicles in the president’s climate effort to convert the nation’s transportation fleet to electric vehicles. Freshman Kansas Republican Roger Marshall is the latest Midwest lawmaker to join the biofuels push, as the administration ramps up its electric car effort, and the Senate moves a carbon credit bill.

Jewel Bronaugh agreed during her recent Senate confirmation hearing to be deputy USDA secretary, biofuels are critical to helping meet climate change goals, pointing to their many uses. READ MORE; includes AUDIO

Excerpt from Politico's Morning Energy: LEVIN, AOC PUSH MASS EV CHARGING BUILDOUT: ... Republicans blasted Democrats’ electric vehicles plans as beholden to a Chinese-dominated supply chain during a House Energy hearing on the CLEAN Future Act on Wednesday. Democrats have been wary about addressing this line of attack directly — China is a top producer of critical minerals needed in EV production and has been accused of labor abuses.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.),ranking member of the full committee, brought up “the security impacts of the United States trading its strategic advantage in fossil energy for more reliance on supply chains from China."

Republicans also accused Democrats of trying to mandate a transition to electric vehicles that would be harmful to everyday consumers, even though no Democratic proposals would require Americans to change what vehicles they drive.

In defending their proposals, Democrats emphasized how key EVs could be in reaching economy-wide net-zero emissions by 2050. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) also stressed the economic benefits of EVs, which will likely be cheaper than gas-powered vehicles within five years, he said. Pro’s Tanya Snyder gets into the details.

Excerpt from Politico's Morning Energy: NAT SEC TOO: The financial sector isn’t the only worry for the administration. Climate change also poses a major security risk, the Biden administration declared in a suite of reports from key national security agencies Thursday. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued its first National Intelligence Estimate on Climate Change; the Pentagon released its own review on how climate change will alter defense; the Department of Homeland Security created a strategic framework on defending the country and its individual communities from climate threats; and the White House crafted a report on the links between climate change and migration. The National Security Council is also putting together a standing interagency working group tackling climate change and migration.

“We are already experiencing the devastating impacts that climate has wreaked on almost every aspect of our lives, from food and water insecurity to infrastructure and public health, this crisis is exacerbating inequalities that intersect with gender, race, ethnicity, and economic security,” the White House said in a statement. “We have reached a point where we cannot reverse some of the changes to the climate system.” READ MORE