PALM BEACH COUNTY, Florida – The Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to allow California to move forward with a ban on internal combustion engines in automobiles that could potentially expand this very harmful policy into additional states is a direct attack on Hispanic families and businesses, The National Hispanic Energy Council (NHEC) said.
Hispanic households – who already dedicate a disproportionate share of their income to energy and pay 20% more than the median U.S. household for it – will bear the brunt of this lame-duck decision by the Biden Administration, especially because personal mobility is intrinsically tied to economic opportunity. The EPA granted California the waiver it needs to go forward with its Advanced Clean Cars II standard, which will lead to a ban on the sales of new traditional gas- and diesel-powered vehicles in 2035.
“This last-minute decision by the federal government to impose the will of a state that produces endless policies that disdvantage its large Hispanic population is bad policy delivered in bad faith,” NHEC Chairman Julio Fuentes, also President of the Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said. “Hispanics contribute $3.6 trillion a year to America’s GDP, and their ability to do so is tied to their ability to get to their jobs and businesses. Mobility matters, and this California-imposed car ban is going to hurt its own people first, and those in other states which have adopted the unrealistic California standard.”
“Many of our families moved to the United States in search of a better life from nations where socialist governments thought they could control the consumer market, with predictably terrible economic results that destroyed the standard of living,” Fuentes said. “California unfortunately is following that same path with its de facto car ban, and the Biden Administration is doing no one any favors with this disappointing decision.”
NHEC urges the incoming administration to reverse this decision and prioritize affordable, real-world energy solutions that uplift Hispanic families and businesses.
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About The National Hispanic Energy Council
The National Hispanic Energy Council (NHEC) The National Hispanic Energy Council is founded on the principle of fair and equitable energy for all Americans, driven by the urgent need to reduce the 20% higher energy burden Hispanic families pay compared to the median American family. Drawing on expertise from across the economy and Hispanic community, we exist to fill a void in advocacy: a voice for energy policies that helps Hispanic families, businesses and entrepreneurs. The Council is building a bipartisan coalition of leaders of Hispanic groups across the country, and exists to educate elected officials, policy makers and the Hispanic public on what good energy policy choices look like.
Contact:
Bryson Hull
(202) 657-2855
bhull@hbwresources.com
