Coalition Challenges Proposed Electric Vehicle Mandate In Federal Court

The Energy Equipment and Infrastructure Alliance (EEIA), which the Metals Service Center Institute is a member of, has submitted a challenge to the Biden administration’s vehicle mileage standards regulations to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. EEIA was joined by a broad group of other organizations, including labor unions.

As the EEIA explained at the time, earlier this year President Joe Biden issued an executive order that declared the United States “must lead the world on clean and efficient cars and trucks … by setting a goal that 50 percent of all new passenger cars and light trucks sold in 2030 be zero-emission vehicles, including battery electric, plug-in hybrid electric, or fuel cell electric vehicles.” That analysis concluded that reducing demand for liquid fuels by half by 2040 and by 86 percent by 2055 would effectively eliminate a large portion of U.S. crude oil production, end most fuel refining, and eliminate the need for existing and new liquids pipelines.

The mileage standards are part of the Biden administration’s effort to meet that goal.

The EEIA’s challenge, which was filed on Sept. 6 and is available at this link, argues the Biden administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grossly overstepped their congressionally-mandated regulatory authority by imposing mileage standards for cars and trucks that vehicle manufacturers could not comply with without converting most of their production to battery-electric vehicles. Under the Supreme Court’s “major questions doctrine,” the EEIA argues, regulations such as these, which are likely to have a profound impact on U.S. workers, businesses, consumers and the overall economy, must be expressly mandated by Congress.