Joe Biden’s big electric vehicle push scuppered by rogue Democrat senator

Plans to support the United States’ EV industry have taken a potentially life-threatening hit after Democratic senator Joe Manchin announced he would veto US President Joe Biden’s proposed ‘Build Back Better’ bill, which includes a $US12,500 refundable tax credit for electric vehicle purchases.

Designed as president Biden’s signature legislative ambition, the $US1.75 trillion Build Back Better bill consists of a raft of funding opportunities intended to support the United States’ economy – including boosts to healthcare, education, childcare, and necessary tax cuts.

The Build Back Better bill also targets investing in clean technologies and electric vehicles, including tax credits for middle class families to support their shift to clean energy and electrification, and tax credits for companies manufacturing wind turbine blades, solar panels, and electric cars.

Amongst the number of proposed investments in America’s clean energy future is a $12,500 refundable tax credit for electric vehicle purchases.

Currently, a $7,500 tax credit is available for qualifying vehicles and buyers, made up of a base amount of $4,000 and including a further $3,500 available if the EV battery pack includes at least 40kWh of capacity. For hybrids, the fuel tank cannot exceed 2.5 gallons, or around 11 litres.

Democrats also recently increased the price cap for qualifying EVs as part of the bill, with the new language allowing for vans, trucks, and SUVs with a manufacturer suggested retail price of up to $80,000 to qualify for the $12,500 tax credit.

The bill would also make General Motors and Tesla eligible again for tax credits, after both companies already hit the 200,000-vehicle cap on the existing $7,500 credit.

Despite the seemingly innocuous nature of these proposals – amidst the much larger need for economic stimulus in a country hit relatively hard by the global COVID-19 pandemic, four years of a Trump presidency, and a global shift towards clean energy technologies – they are a bridge too far for West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, a perpetual thorn in the side of Biden.

Manchin has made himself public enemy number one for the Democratic Party as he toes an imaginary and convoluted notion of “centrism” which rings more of Republican cronyism and he has been accused of indentured servitude to the American fossil fuel industry, and the coal industry in West Virginia in particular.

Manchin has described the EV tax credits  as “wrong” and “not American,” claiming instead that “It’s not how we built this country, and the product should speak for itself. We shouldn’t use everyone’s tax dollars to pick winners and losers.”

Of course, tax dollars is exactly what keeps the fossil fuel industry afloat.