(The Center Square) – The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) released a new set of advertisements titled “Rearview” this week.
The ad buy is the latest development in an ongoing battle over President Joe Biden’s strict energy regulations which have drawn pushback from state authorities and industry interests.
The launch of these ads are directed towards swaying both congressional representatives as well as United States senators to vote to overturn a recent regulation from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that could ban most gas cars by 2032, according to a press release from AFPM.
AFPM describes their ad campaign as “part of AFPM’s eight-figure issue campaign raising awareness about the Biden Administration’s whole-of-government-effort to phase out gas cars and push the country to 100–percent electric vehicle sales.” according to the group.
AFPM is also running state-specific versions of the ads in nine different US states. The states which have state-specific “Rearview” ads running are Texas, Nevada, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, Montana, Ohio and Michigan.
These ads are intended for “spotlighting key Senators and Congressional Representatives who could be difference-makers in upcoming Congressional Review Act votes” according to AFPM.
AFPM’s ads come on the heels of the EPA finalizing regulation to rapidly increase vehicle electrification in the US that was announced in March of this year.
The EPA Press Office came out with a news release announcing The Biden Administration’s finalization of their pollution standards for cars in March.
“These standards will avoid more than 7 billion tons of carbon emissions and provide nearly $100 billion of annual net benefits to society, including $13 billion of annual public health benefits due to improved air quality, and $62 billion in reduced annual fuel costs, and maintenance and repair costs for drivers,” the EPA stated. “The final standards deliver on the significant pollution reductions outlined in the proposed rule, while accelerating the adoption of cleaner vehicle technologies. EPA is finalizing this rule as sales of clean vehicles, including plug-in hybrid and fully electric vehicles, hit record highs last year.”
According to a post from AFPM Communications, the EPA’s regulation on cars “will require the U.S. vehicle fleet to meet an average tailpipe emission target of 85 grams/mile—the most stringent target EPA has ever issued.”
The AFPM post also mentions how the EPA’s regulation is “designed to force electric vehicle (EV) adoption.”
Several groups have sued the EPA over their emissions rule and mandate in favor of electric and zero-emissions vehicles, The Center Square previously reported.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) has previously criticized EPA. API posted a statement on their news blog last year criticizing EPA’s tailpipe emissions rule, saying it “threatens freedom, reliability, and security”.
AFPM President and CEO Chet Thompson also issued a written statement about the EPA’s vehicle regulation amidst the launch of the “Rearview” ad campaign.
“EPA’s now-final light-duty vehicle regulation is designed to ban most new gas cars simply because the Biden administration thinks consumers aren’t adopting EV’s fast enough,” he said. “This regulation is bad for consumers and their pocketbooks; it’s bad for our energy and national security, and it will have costly and irresponsible repercussions across the U.S. economy.”
Thompson argued that the EPA regulation was “unlawful” in his statement.
“Congress never authorized the EPA to do this, so it’s imperative that our elected officials vote to overturn this unlawful regulation in the coming weeks,” he said. “And if members vote against their respective CRA measure to uphold EPA’s ban, they need to be prepared to answer for that to their constituents.”
One of the “Rearview” ads that is state-specific for Texas says that “President Biden is banning most new gas cars, putting our freedom to choose what to drive in the rearview mirror.”
This ad criticizes President Biden’s EPA regulations as well as senators who “did nothing to stop him.”
The ad also says that “With the challenges ahead, we can’t leave our choices, our economic strength, and our national security in the rear view mirror.”
