LaMalfa: Newsom’s Electric Vehicle Order is Lunacy

(Sacramento, CA) – Congressman Doug LaMalfa issued the following statement after California Governor Newsom issued an Executive Order that will ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles sold in the state by 2035 in favor of zero-emissions electric vehicles (EV).

LaMalfa said: "This Executive Order is not just an extreme case of executive overreach – it is just plain lunacy. Just two weeks ago, the state could not even keep the lights on, largely due to Democrat policies that have weakened our energy grids across the board. Our state simply does not have the grid capacity to charge the vehicles of millions of Californians. Should a PSPS occur during wildfire season and your EV is not charged, you may not be able to leave your home. This is an extreme public safety concern.

"While the vehicles themselves may be ‘zero-emissions,' the actual process of creating their batteries is not. Mining rare earth minerals must increase exponentially to support the manufacturing of the millions of electric car batteries and electronics necessary to meet the Governor's demands. Lithium car batteries also only have a lifespan of 10-15 years. If not recycled correctly, the pollution in landfills from lithium batteries could be toxic or even cause explosions. The challenges to mining, manufacturing, and disposing of these batteries makes electric vehicles even more difficult to justify.

"Driving an electric vehicle will not save us from future wildfires nor will it save us any money. The Governor is once again using wildfire season as an excuse to peddle his climate change agenda and appeal to extreme environmentalists. It's clear that he is more concerned with radical proposals than the health and safety of my constituents."

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