Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, told Newsmax on Tuesday that the Biden administration needs to "get over" its obsession with banning gas-powered vehicles because electric vehicles are no better for the environment and are produced using child and slave labor.
"Anybody who is out there driving an electric vehicle — and while it's personal choice, and I do support personal choice when it comes to purchasing automobiles — but they have to recognize that the materials that are coming into those cars are coming from other nations, primarily in Africa, where the Chinese are using slave labor, child labor, to mine the very rare earth elements and minerals that go into those electric vehicle batteries," Ernst said during an appearance on Newsmax's "The Chris Salcedo Show." "Children as young as 4 years old."
"We know that those mines also emit a lot of carbon, so when you're talking about a smaller carbon footprint, no way folks," she continued. "These EVs, if you compare them to regular vehicles, they are no better than a regular gas-powered vehicle. So, we need to get over these electric vehicle fantasies. It's ridiculous."
Ernst said that defeating the Biden administration's green agenda comes down to Republicans blocking it on Capitol Hill.
"We absolutely have to stop this, and we can do it by really pushing back on any legislation that is coming through the United States Senate," she said. "We know our friends over in the House will do this as well, and then certainly working to overturn any of these ridiculous regulations that are being promulgated by these agencies in this Biden administration."
Released earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed tailpipe emissions standards that would require that 67% of new sedans, crossovers, SUVs, and light truck purchases be electric by 2032, along with up to 50% of bus and garbage truck purchases, 35% of short-haul freight tractor purchases, and 25% of long-haul freight tractor purchases.
Some Democrat-run states, including New Jersey and Connecticut, have submitted ambitious plans to ban the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2035, although the latter scrapped the proposed regulations last week after concern from some state lawmakers over the standards.
A growing number of states are committing to California's aggressive clean vehicle regulations and moving toward zero-emission vehicles, including Vermont, New York, Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts, Virginia, Rhode Island, and Maryland, according to Coltura, a Seattle-based nonprofit advocating for an end to gasoline vehicle use.