WASHINGTON – The White House plans to host the CEOs of major U.S. companies – including GM’s Mary Barra and Ford’s Jim Farley – on Wednesday to discuss its $1.75 trillion Build Back Better legislation, officials told Reuters .
“We have an event tomorrow on Build Back Better where there will be a number of CEOs here,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at a press briefing on Tuesday.
Biden lobbied in December to pass Congress the spending bill that would provide billions of dollars to fight climate change and boost electric vehicles as well as money for universal early education, family leave paid and other social security expenses.
But the measure currently lacks sufficient support in the Senate, where moderate U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, DW.Va., opposed it with Republicans.
Biden on Tuesday touted General Motors’ announcement of a $7 billion investment in Michigancreating 4,000 jobs and boosting the manufacture of electric vehicles and batteries. GM CEO Mary Barra should be among the CEOs in attendance along with Ford CEO Jim Farley. the White House said.
Farley, in a statement released by Ford, said: “Strengthened consumer incentives will help get more drivers behind the wheel of electric vehicles and help American workers lead the global transition to zero-emissions transportation. I have I look forward to traveling to Washington tomorrow to meet with President Biden and discuss how we can make this plan a reality.
Biden’s proposal would increase the current $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles to $12,500 for union-made U.S. vehicles, as well as creating a credit of up to $4,000 for vehicles second hand. The bill would also make GM and Tesla Inc. eligible for tax credits again after hitting the 200,000 vehicle cap on the existing $7,500 credit.
“General Motors is grateful for the opportunity to join the discussion,” the automaker said in a statement. “The meeting is a good opportunity to reinforce GM’s policy priorities, particularly around electric vehicles and building our U.S. supply chain as we continue to move toward an all-electric future.”
The bill also includes a 30% credit for commercial electric vehicles. Build Back Better would also allocate $3.5 billion to convert US factories to produce electrified or fuel cell vehicles and kick-start incentives that could generate $3.7 billion for automotive communities by 2031.
Automakers could also benefit from $3 billion allocated to an advanced technology vehicle manufacturing loan program from the Department of Energy.
Biden wants 50% of new American vehicles to be electric or plug-in hybrid electric by 2030.
Automotive News contributed to this report.
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