Electrification Coalition Statement on 2023 State of the Union Address

Contact: Noah Barnes, Electrification Coalition
nbarnes@electrificationcoalition.org, (202) 461-2371

Washington, D.C.—In response to President Biden’s State of the Union address, Electrification Coalition (EC) Executive Director Ben Prochazka made the following statement: 

“Oil’s monopoly on our country’s transportation sector is a direct threat to our national security. The widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) is the only way to break our dependence on this volatile global commodity and the bad actors who control it, all while restoring domestic manufacturing.  

“As the president stated in last night’s remarks, the administration has taken significant steps toward a transportation future that is domestically powered and stably priced and offers family-sustaining jobs for all Americans. We are seeing unprecedented momentum for the transition to electric vehicles, and the related investments from the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—more than 30 times the previous levels of federal funding for EVs—provide the down payment needed to end our dependence on oil and achieve economic prosperity.   

“Now it is time to, in the president’s words, ‘finish the job’ and implement the crucial transportation electrification investments established through recent legislation and actions, some of which were mentioned in last night’s address. Those include: 

• The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which includes critical funding for electric school buses, resources to build a national EV charging, and prioritize domestic manufacturing of batteries and the critical minerals for EVs; 
• the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes a long-term extension of the light-duty EV tax credit, incentives for medium- and heavy-duty EVs, incentives for charging infrastructure, incentives that will support electrification in historically disadvantaged communities, important funding to electrify the postal service, and funding for EV manufacturing and supply chains; 

• the CHIPS and Science Act, which provides incentives to expand domestic manufacturing capacity to produce semiconductors for a range of applications, including manufacturing EVs and related equipment and software; 
• an executive order to electrify the federal fleet, including 100 percent zero-emission-vehicle acquisitions by 2035; 
• an executive order to increase zero-emission vehicles’ share of new passenger vehicle sales to 50 percent by 2030; 
• and the signing of the Global Memorandum of Understanding on Zero-Emission Medium-and Heavy-Duty Vehicles, an international agreement supporting a path to 100% new zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sales by 2040 with a targeted floor of 30% new zero-emission MHDV sales by 2030.
   

“The EC commends the administration for its leadership on transportation electrification, but much more work remains to be done to sever our nation’s oil dependence and realize the benefits EVs can bring to U.S. economic and national security.  

“The EC is well positioned to offer technical support and policy expertise, and we look forward to working with the administration, as well as state and local partners, in seizing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Our online resources can help governments and other entities navigate new funding pathways. Those include:  

• The EV Funding Finder, a user-friendly tool to identify federal funding opportunities; 
• a factsheet on EV tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act; 
• the AchiEVe toolkit, which includes the latest information on state and local EV policies, with sections focused on funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act; 
• and the DRVE tool, which offers unique, turnkey analysis for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty fleet electrification.”