Senator Rick Scott Demands Government Investigation Into Electric Vehicle Payoffs

Republican senators, including Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., are requesting an investigation to determine if the Biden administration is manipulating electric vehicle ratings to benefit automakers with excessive subsidies “incorrectly and likely intentionally.”

Senators Mike Lee, Roger Marshall, Dan Sullivan, and Pete Ricketts have joined Scott in urging Government Accountability Office Comptroller General Gene Dodaro to launch an inquiry.

A letter dated Friday stated, “These federal standards and the improper application of the FCF [fuel content factor] to EVs is resulting in an improper transfer of billions of dollars every year from gasoline vehicle manufacturers and consumers to electric vehicle manufacturers and consumers. Despite this massive unlawful wealth transfer, gasoline and diesel car and truck consumers are unaware that they have been unknowingly subsidizing the purchase of EVs.”

The senators express concern that the Biden administration is favoring electric vehicles over gas-powered vehicles without transparency, under pressure from Green New Deal progressives.

The letter raises issues with the Department of Energy setting the petroleum equivalency factor (PEF) for EVs, which is used by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to determine the agency’s corporate average fuel economy standards.

Scott, who has been advocating for economic decoupling from China, has also raised concerns about the Biden administration’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party and its influence on the EV market.

In another letter to SEC Chair Gary Gensler, Scott highlighted the risks of Chinese-controlled companies in the EV market and their potential impact on U.S. national security and capital markets.

The senators warn that connections to forced labor and human rights violations in the supply chain of auto companies with ties to China undermine U.S. capital markets and national security.