In the course of selling his infrastructure bill, Joe Biden has been promoting an electric battery company called Proterra. He has failed to mention that his energy secretary Jennifer Granholm is a major stakeholder in the company.
This is just the sort of crony-capitalism that Democrats and the media accused Trump of regularly.
Matthew Foldi reports at the Washington Free Beacon:
Biden to Showcase Business Tied to Energy Sec GranholmEnergy Secretary Jennifer Granholm owns up to $5 million in the electric battery and vehicle manufacturer President Joe Biden will promote on Tuesday as part of his push for a $1.9 trillion infrastructure bill.Biden’s virtual visit to the electric battery producer Proterra comes days after Vice President Kamala Harris paid a visit to Thomas Built Buses, a North Carolina-based school bus company that counts Proterra as its main supplier of electric vehicles. The back-to-back White House visits to Granholm-connected companies risk at least the appearance of impropriety and demonstrate how lawmakers can use policy initiatives to pad their own wallets. Biden’s infrastructure package includes a $174 billion investment in the electric vehicle market, calls for the replacement of “50,000 diesel transit vehicles” in favor of electric alternatives, and creates a Clean Buses for Kids program that will “electrify at least 20 percent of our yellow school bus fleet.”Granholm has taken a leading role in the administration’s forthcoming infrastructure package. The president in February tasked her with “identifying risks in the supply chain for high-capacity batteries, including electric-vehicle batteries, and policy recommendations to address these risks.”
This press release on PR Newswire explains how Proterra will benefit from the infrastructure bill. What a stroke of luck that they’ve been selected for this:
Proterra Selected In Electric Bus Contract By Washington State Department of Enterprise ServicesProterra Inc (“Proterra”), a leading innovator in commercial vehicle electrification technology, today announced that it has been selected by the Washington State Department of Enterprise Services as a vendor to supply zero-emission battery-electric transit buses and charging infrastructure under the state’s regional Cooperative Purchasing Contract.Proterra was chosen to help streamline local transit agencies’ access to vehicles that best meet their specific transit system needs. Transit agencies, universities, and other commercial operators can now purchase Proterra battery-electric buses as well as Proterra charging infrastructure through the Washington State Cooperating Purchasing program’s pre-established contract.”Proterra is proud to support more than 130 customers across North America including transit agencies, airports, universities, and commercial operators that are delivering an essential service to riders. We look forward to helping even more customers throughout the country accelerate the switch to 100% clean transportation for all,” said John Walsh, Proterra Senior Vice President.
Do you ever wonder how so many people in government become so wealthy? This is a fine example.
Featured image via YouTube.
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