Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) stymied another Democrat witness on Thursday as she attempted to argue the merits of electric vehicles.
Amid reports of high costs, few charging receptacles, batteries that are vulnerable to cold weather and the negative social and environmental impact associated with electric vehicle batteries, Kennedy asked the president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association a simple question: “If electric cars are so swell, how come government has to pay people to drive them?”
Kennedy posed the question during Thursday’s Senate Committee on Budget hearing. SEIA President Abigail Ross Hopper appeared as an expert witness.
Kennedy began by noting, “I love solar energy, I just want you to know that, and I love electric cars,” but he then pressed Ross Hopper for details regarding why the government needed to subsidize their cost.
As Ross Hopper advocated for funding via the Inflation Reduction Act and noted that electric vehicles represent an important and “significant investment in the clean energy economy,” Kennedy questioned her remarks.
Kennedy said: “I gotta ask you this question, I’ve been waiting to ask this. If electric cars are so swell, how come government has to pay people to drive them?”
The expert in the field struggled for a response.
Ross Hopper replied: “So I think, like most government polices, right, are put in place to incent certain behaviors and so there’s part of the policy is that if we want more electric cars—”
Kennedy politely interjected: “Yeah, but if they’re so swell, why couldn’t they just, in a competitive market, you know, people, why wouldn’t they be choosing electric cars over internal combustion engine cars? Why do we have to pay people to drive them?”
Ross Hopper attempted to reframe her position: “I wouldn’t characterize it as paying people to drive them.”
Kennedy quickly disagreed, saying: “Well, sure we are! We’re giving them a big ol’ tax credit.”
The SEIA president could not move off her talking point and reiterated: “I would characterize it as the government having a policy to incentivize more purchases of electric vehicles.”
Kennedy, confident his point was well made, ended his line of questioning.
The Daily Caller noted that the Biden administration offers a $7,500 consumer tax credit for purchasing certain electric vehicles.
Financial experts project the incentive program will cost taxpayers over $136 billion through 2033.
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