Biden lauds his Inflation Reduction Act as he announces $900M to build electric vehicle chargers

President Biden has claimed he is ‘rebuilding the economy’ with green energy provisions in his Inflation Reduction Act – as inflation stands at a soaring 8.3 percent.  

The President, at the Detroit Auto Show in Michigan, announced $900 million in funding toward electric vehicle charging stations.  

He said: ‘With America’s workers leading the way we’re rebuilding the economy, a clean energy economy, and we’re doing it from the bottom up with the middle out.’ 

He touted the Democrat-led Inflation Reduction Act, which made investments in clean energy. 

‘I signed into law the inflation Reduction Act and gives tax credits to new electric vehicles fuel cell vehicles made in America for the first time. 

‘You get a tax credit if you buy a used electric vehicle – that’s all coming. And part of the infrastructure bill we’re investing $7.5 billion to build electric vehicle charging stations.’

It comes after he was criticized for a major White House speech on Tuesday in which he praised his own Inflation Reduction Act – just hours after figures showed the cost of living is now 8.3 percent.

He was criticized for the speech by The New York Times, USA Today and even CNN – which cut away from it.

Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average took a tumble and had its worst day since June 2020 after news of the new figures Tuesday. 

‘Remember, when the middle class grows, the middle class grows everybody does well, the poor have a way up, and the wealthy do very well,’ Biden said

 The president Wednesday went on to warn that without proper investment, the U.S. would lose its ‘edge’ to China. 

We risk losing the edge of the nation, and China and the rest of the world are catching up. We used to invest almost 2 percent of our entire GDP in research and development, now it’s 0.7 percent,’ he said.  

‘I’m so tired of trickle down I can’t stand it!’ Biden told Detroit auto workers, referencing the 1980s-era idea that tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations trickle down to the average person.   

‘Remember, when the middle class grows, the middle class grows everybody does well, the poor have a way up, and the wealthy do very well,’ Biden said.   

The president was in Michigan to announce the first $900 million for electric vehicle chargers across 53,000 miles of the national highway system in 35 states.

He told the group of auto workers, mostly members of the United Auto Workers’ union (UAW), that when he took office as vice president in 2009, the auto industry was ‘on its back.’  

‘We were told when the when the automobile industry was going belly up, that it would never recover,’ Biden said, adding that he made the case to then-President Obama that it could come back. 

‘We bet on the UAW to bring it back. I swear to God you brought it back No, I’m not joking. Think about it- the UAW brought it back.’

‘American manufacturing is back. Detroit is back, Americans back, and folks we’re proving it is never ever, ever a good bet to bet against the American people,’ he concluded.

Before his remarks, Biden posed in the driver’s seat of an orange electric Corvette Wednesday as he toured the Detroit Auto Show. 

‘I’m driving home. Wanna come with me?’ the president, a self-confessed ‘car guy,’ said. 

He revved the engine with awe as General Motors CEO Mary Barra looked on. 

The president then sat in the driver’s seat of a blue all-electric Silverado, before heading to the Ford section and checking out an orange electric Mustang with Bill Ford, CEO of Ford Motor Company. He then headed to the Jeep section where he checked out an electric Grand Cherokee.

Accompanying Biden on the visit were Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Rep. Debbie Dingell and Sen. Debbie Stabenow. 

Whitmer initially brushed off a question from the White House pool about whether Biden should run again in 2024, but Dingell jumped in and said she would support him. ‘I’m gonna tell you if he runs, we’re all supporting him,’ Dingell said, adding that those are ‘questions designed to cause trouble.’

Biden then touted the infrastructure bill and the Democrat-led Inflation Reduction Act, both of which made investments in clean energy

‘There’s no question, if President Biden runs again count me in,’ Stabenow chimed in, avoiding the question at hand – if Biden should run again.

Biden was in Michigan to tout the $900 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding that will go toward building electric vehicle chargers across 53,000 miles of highway in the United States. 

Biden made the trip to tout the ‘electric vehicle manufacturing boom,’ which he’s taking credit for due to his administration’s policies – including new provisions found in the Inflation Reduction Act that the president signed into law last month. 

‘The president will discuss how his auto vision and leadership, including through his Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the CHIPS and Science Act, have positioned the United States to lead the electric vehicle future – creating more jobs and making more in America all while fighting climate change,’ a senior administration official said. 

It’s the first time in three years the Detroit Auto Show has gone on thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Biden championed electric cars during the 2020 campaign and has taken several opportunities to test drive them as president. 

President Joe Biden – a self-confessed ‘car guy’ – toured the Detroit Auto Show Wednesday and announce that $900 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding will go toward building electric vehicle chargers across 53,000 miles of highway

Biden is making the trip to tout the ‘electric vehicle manufacturing boom,’ which he’s taking credit for due to his administration’s policies – including new provisions found in the Inflation Reduction Act that the president signed into law last month.

Biden with Mary Barra (L), CEO of General Motors, at the 2022 North American International Auto Show at Huntington Place Convention Center in Detroit, Michigan on September 14, 2022

He put out a campaign ad called ‘Joe Biden Gets Vetted,’ and shows him seated behind the wheel of his 1967 Corvette talking about how he’d like to see an electric model.

‘I believe that we can own the 21st century market again by moving to electric vehicles,’ he said. 

Then in May 2021, he surprised reporters by climbing behind the wheel of a Ford F-150 Lightning, making an unannounced stop at a Ford driving facility. 

Secret Service agents generally discourage the president from driving. 

‘This sucker’s quick,’ the president remarked after flying around the course. 

In May he signed an executive order giving a boost to the electric car industry. 

And then on a trip to Detroit in November, Biden test drove an electric Hummer, manufactured by General Motors. 

The Inflation Reduction Act includes a $7,500 tax credit for Americans who buy electric cars – but it comes with a lot of caveats as a way to push manufacturers to create cheaper electric cars and seek out components made by the U.S. and its trading partners over China and other rivals. 

It helps consumers out by removing a 200,000 vehicle-per-manufacturer annual cap starting in January. 

They’re also able to use the tax credit at the point-of-sale, transferring it directly to a car dealer.  

Buyers can also get up to $4,000 in tax credit off a sale – of $25,000 max – of a used electric vehicle.  

To entice manufacturers and dealers to make electric vehicles cheaper, the tax credits can only be used on sedans under $55,000 and SUVs and vans under $80,000. 

There’s an income cap of $150,000 for individuals and $300,000 for couples. 

And then as a way to shore up domestic production, to qualify for the full $7,500, the vehicle needs to be assembled in the U.S. – and over a multi-year period more components of the car need to come from the U.S. or a trading partner. 

For instance, in 2025 vehicles will not qualify for a tax credit if their batteries’ minerals were extracted, processed or recycled by a ‘foreign entity of concern.’ 

Critics have called the new rules overly complicated and suggested they could steer Americans away from going electric. 

More broadly, conservatives have continued to make electric vehicles a political punching bag. 

When California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom recently asked residents to conserve power, a number of conservative commentators snarked that the state that wants to mandate electric vehicles doesn’t have enough energy to power them.

‘California outlaws gasoline powered vehicles, then announces -d in order to avoid brown-outs, that residents should refrain from charging their electric cars,’ remarked radio host Larry Elder, the Republican candidate in last year’s failed recall race to replace Newsom. 

Generally speaking, research released late last month found that a super-majority of Americans – 66 to 80 percent – supported major climiate change mitigation policies.

However, research published in Nature Communication found that 80 to 90 percent of Americans underestimated the popularity of such policies.