Buttigieg says families who buy electric vehicles ‘will never have to worry about gas prices again’

Comes amid the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill and rising gas prices

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that families who buy electric vehicles will not need to worry about gas prices, as concerns about the rising cost of fuel continues to dog the Biden administration.

The Cabinet secretary and former mayor of South Bend, Indiana told MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart on Sunday that Democrats’ proposed Build Back Better bill includes incentives to buy electric vehicles, The Hill reported, giving families a “$12,500 discount” and that “families who own that vehicle will never have to worry about gas prices again.”

“The people who stand to benefit most from owning an EV are often rural residents who have the most distances to drive, who burn the most gas, and underserved urban residents, in areas where there are higher gas prices and lower income,” Mr Buttigieg said.

Mr Buttigieg’s remarks come after President Joe Biden signed legislation that passed on a bipartisan basis to improve the nation’s infrastructure and the House passed a massive social spending bill, as well as universal childcare and preschool, increased spending for home care for elderly and disabled people, hearing coverage in Medicare and various provisions to combat climate change.

“If we can make the electric vehicle less expensive for everybody, more people can take advantage, and we'll be selling more American-made EVs, which means in time they'll become less expensive to make and to buy for everybody,” he said.

Mr Buttigieg’s pitch comes as Americans face high gas prices. In response, the Biden administration announced last week that it would tap into the nation’s strategic petroleum reserve and release 50m barrels.

The transportation secretary, who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 and became the first openly gay candidate to win a state when he won the Iowa caucuses, is considered a potential candidate for president in 2024 should Mr Biden not run for reelection.