Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Taxpayers to get charged as Pentagon buys up Chevy Volts

Fox News reports:

The Chevy Volt, the plug-in car that has been plagued by sluggish sales and mounting losses since General Motors rolled it out in 2010, has one deep-pocketed customer: the Pentagon. The Department of Defense is planning to purchase 1,500 electric cars including Volts as part of its effort to make the military more environmentally friendly. But given the federal government’s bailout of Chevy maker General Motors, President Obama’s praise of the Volt and the car’s long-running problems, the federal purchase is likely to become the latest controversy in the Volt’s short life.

Stars and Stripes has more info:


Electric vehicles are becoming a more common sight on military bases as the Department of Defense adds “road-capable” electric cars such as the Chevy Volt to a fleet of thousands of smaller battery-powered vehicles. The moves are part of the Defense Department’s “green initiatives,” which seek to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign energy sources. The Volts, which can run on gas or electricity, join more than 3,000 electric vehicles already in the military fleet, according to the 2011 Federal Fleet Report. The Army alone is placing electric vehicles at more than 40 installations, she said, and the DOD aims to integrate about 1,500 road-capable electric vehicles over the next few years. To power its electric vehicles, the military is installing the quick charging points at many of its bases. Opconnect, a company that makes electric vehicle charging stations, announced earlier this year that it would install them at Navy bases in Washington; Indian Head, Md.; and San Diego...

And about all this, Erika Johnson at Hot Air says:

So, let me get this straight: The defense budget is looking at billions of dollars in budget cuts to create a “leaner military” over the next decade, and Secretary Panetta has said that the upcoming half-a-trillion sequester would be a “disaster” as-is, but now we’re using our limited defense funds to buy cars that the free market is rejecting in order to prop up the Obama administration’s green agenda?

As tempting as it is to lay all of this on Obama, there are other culprits involved.  One commenter points out:

Federal agencies are mandated by the Energy Policy Act, Executive Order 13423, and the Energy Independence and Security Act to purchase alternative fuel vehicles (AFV), to increase consumption of alternative fuels, and to reduce petroleum consumption.

So I checked it out. EO 13423 was issued by George W. Bush. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 were both signed into law by George W. Bush.  The Energy Policy Act was signed by Bush at Sandia Labs in Albuquerque!  The Senate vote was 74-26 and the House vote was 249-183.  The votes on the 2007 bill were 86-8 and 314-100.  So there is plenty of blame to go around, in both parties.

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