Executive
Waste of the Day: U.S. Will Give $12 Billion To Auto Makers To Retrofit Plants For EVs
The Biden administration plans a $12 billion subsidy program to pay automakers to retool to make hybrid and battery powered EVs.
The Biden administration is so enthusiastic to push electric and hybrid vehicles on the public that the Energy Department is offering $12 billion in grants and loans for automakers and suppliers to retrofit their plants, Reuters reported.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm recently made the announcement, telling reporters:
While we transition to EVs, we want to ensure that workers can transition in place, that there is no worker, no community left behind.
Granholm is the former governor of car-manufacturing state of Michigan.
The Biden administration hopes to meet its goal of having EVs represent at least half of all new car sales in the U.S. by 2030. Besides EVs, the funding can be used for factories that make efficient hybrid, plug-in electric hybrid, plug-in electric drive and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
The United Auto Workers (UAW) union just ended a six-week strike that cost automakers an estimated $10 billion, and Energy Department grants and loans to convert existing auto plants to build electric vehicles could help win them over.
The UAW previously warned that too quick of a change could put thousands of jobs at risk in states like Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and Indiana.
When the Energy Department announced its plan to lend $9.2 billion to a joint venture of Ford Motors and South Korea’s SK On to build three U.S. battery plants, UAW President Shawn Fain called the loan a massive “giveaway” with “no consideration for wages, working conditions, union rights or retirement security” that would help create low-paying jobs adding, “Why is Joe Biden’s administration facilitating this corporate greed with taxpayer money?” Reuters reported.
The Inflation Reduction Act which was passed by Democrats last year, will fund $2 billion in grants and $10 billion in loans will come from the Energy Department’s Loans Program Office.
Using $12 billion in taxpayer funds to prop up private, for-profit industry so they do the administration’s bidding is at least wasteful, if not unethical.
The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com
This article was originally published by RealClearInvestigations and made available via RealClearWire.
Adam Andrzejewski (say: Angie-eff-ski) was the CEO/founder of OpenTheBooks.com. Before dedicating his life to public service, Adam co-founded HomePages Directories, a $20 million publishing company (1997-2007). His works have been featured on the BBC, Good Morning America, ABC World News Tonight, C-SPAN, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, FOX News, CNN, National Public Radio (NPR), Forbes, Newsweek, and many other national media.
Today, OpenTheBooks.com is the largest private repository of U.S. public-sector spending. Mission: post "every dime, online, in real time." In 2022, OpenTheBooks.com captured nearly all public expenditures in the country, including nearly all disclosed federal government spending; 50 of 50 state checkbooks; and 25 million public employee salary and pension records from 50,000 public bodies across America.
The group's aggressive transparency and forensic auditing of government spending has led to the assembly of grand juries, indictments, and successful prosecutions; congressional briefings, hearings, and subpoenas; Government Accountability Office (GAO) audits; Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports; federal legislation; and much more.
Our Honorary Chairman - In Memoriam is U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, MD.
Andrzejewski's federal oversight work was included in the President's Budget To Congress FY2021. The budget cited his organization by name, bullet-pointed their findings, and footnoted/hyperlinked to their report.
Posted on YouTube, Andrzejewski's presentation, The Depth of the Swamp, at the Hillsdale College National Leadership Seminar 2020 in Naples, Florida received 3.8 million views.
Andrzejewski has spoken at the Columbia School of Journalism, Harvard Law School and the law schools at Georgetown and George Washington regarding big data journalism. As a senior policy contributor at Forbes, Adam had nearly 20 million pageviews on 206 published investigations. In 2022, investigative fact-finding on Dr. Fauci's finances led to his cancellation at Forbes.
In 2022, Andrzejewski did 473 live television and radio interviews across broadcast, major cable platforms, and radio shows. Andrzejewski is the author of The Waste of the Day column at Real Clear Policy. The column is syndicated by Sinclair Broadcast Group, owners of nearly 200 ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX affiliates across USA.
Andrzejewski passed away in his sleep at his home in in Hinsdale, Illinois, on August 18, 2024. He is survived by his wife Kerry and three daughters. He also served as a lector at St. Isaac Jogues Catholic Church and finished the Chicago Marathon eight times (PR 3:58.49 in 2022).
Waste of the Day articles published after August 18, 2024 are considered posthumous publications.
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