Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stressed in a new interview that families who buy electric vehicles (EVs) "never have to worry about gas prices again.".
While speaking on MSNBC's "The Sunday Show With Jonathan Capehart," Buttigieg noted that Democrats' proposed social spending package includes incentives to make it more affordable to buy an electric vehicle.
Buttigieg said that families would essentially have a "$12,500 discount" in transportation costs, adding 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," Buttigieg said.
These are the very residents who have not always been connected to electric vehicles that are viewed as kind of a luxury item," he added.
Buttigieg's comments come after the Department of Energy announced last week that it would release 50 million barrels of oil from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an effort to control rising gas prices.
The Democrats' spending package, the Build Back Better Act, recently passed the House and is expected to be taken up in the Senate soon. »