As the Biden administration pushes along legislation supporting its green energy agenda, the former energy secretary under President Trump torched the new set of rules as an attack on the oil industry and taxpayers.
"This is ill-thought-out. This is an EPA run amok. This is the continual genuflecting at the altar of the environmental gods that this administration does without giving a tinker's damn about what it's going to cost the American public," Rick Perry told FOX Business’ Larry Kudlow on Wednesday.
Perry’s comments came on the same day that the Biden White House announced aggressive regulations for tailpipe emissions as part of its sweeping climate agenda and efforts to push Americans to buy electric vehicles (EVs).
The tailpipe emissions regulations will impact car model years 2027 through 2032 and the new rules require car manufacturers to guarantee a 56% greenhouse gas emissions reduction in 2032 vehicles compared to 2026 models, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
FORD TO LOSE $3B ON E.V. ‘STARTUP’ IN 2023, TURN PROFIT ON TRADITIONAL VEHICLES
When looking at a recent AP-NORC poll, however, nearly half of Americans surveyed were "not likely" to consider buying an EV, with only 19% likely and 22% somewhat likely.
The former energy secretary ripped the regulations, criticizing the Biden administration for relying "upon China and using slave labor" rather than expanding domestic infrastructure capabilities.
"I don't have a problem with electric cars. We're going to build a substantial amount of them at Tesla in Austin, Texas, but the market ought to decide that. The government shouldn't be out there saying: we're going to strangle the fossil fuel industry," Perry clarified. "And don't get confused, that's what this is. This is a continual attack on the fossil fuel industry in this country."
"Don't come up with a solution until you have an infrastructure to be able to take care of your solution," he continued. "That would be my advice to the Biden administration. But they don't seem to listen to many people."
The biggest issue facing Biden’s push to an EV-only America could be a lack of charging stations or a sufficient supply chain to build more, the political leader argued.
"When you look at what this is costing Americans when you look at what inflation is doing, when you look at this absolute attack on fossil fuels and the result... basically, we're going to just give a death sentence to a lot of people around the world because we're not going to give them the opportunity to have an electron of power anywhere," Perry said.
The ex-energy secretary’s advice to U.S. drivers and car dealers is to take "really good care of your car" now, and "keep it a long, long time."
"Again, the genuflecting at the altar of the environmental gods is costing Americans a huge amount of money. And I would suggest to you they don't want it. They want to do their part to take care of the environment. One of the ways you do that is by increasing the amount of fuel, being able to use those efficient, clean-burning natural gas that we have in the United States," Perry said.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
The Biden administration has insisted that the EV push invests in American jobs and its economy.
"[Biden’s] Investing in America agenda is expanding domestic manufacturing and accelerating adoption of zero-emission vehicles," according to a White House statement on Wednesday. "This is bringing good-paying jobs back home and putting the United States on a bold path to out-compete China in securing the jobs and investments of the future."
Fox News’ Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.
