Jan 22, 2021 - Health

Stabenow: U.S. must put pandemic relief before EV manufacturing

Oriana González

Screenshot of Axios virtual event — Photo: Axios screenshot

The U.S. needs to focus on helping people get through the coronavirus pandemic before turning to manufacturing, including electric vehicles, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) said on Friday at an Axios virtual event.

What she's saying: "We've got to deal with getting our arms around the vaccine, around the pandemic with the vaccines, helping people survive. And ... then robustly reopen the economy. And certainly, clean energy, jobs, is a big part of that."

The big picture: Thursday, President Biden unveiled a $1.9 trillion relief plan to confront the economic and health impacts of the coronavirus, including roughly $20 billion for a national vaccination program and another $140 billion for testing and other public health investments, Axios' Hans Nichols writes.

Of note: Electric vehicle manufacturing could spur the economy by creating new jobs.

Biden has made electric vehicles a priority in his administration and "pledged to add 500,000 charging stations and make all federal fleets fully electric," Axios' Joann Muller writes.

Go deeper: Watch the full Axios event.

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Stabenow: U.S. must put pandemic relief before EV manufacturing

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