{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cortezmasto.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cortez-masto-attends-lake-tahoe-electric-transportation-forum-discusses-her-new-electric-vehicle-bill-package/", "Cortez Masto Attends Lake Tahoe Electric Transportation Forum, Discusses Her New Electric Vehicle Bill Package", "2026-08-20", "2026", "2026-08", "Democrat", "Senate", "NV", "Catherine Cortez Masto", "C001113", "www.cortezmasto.senate.gov", "cortezmasto", "https://www.cortezmasto.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "FTP for TV stations of her remarks is available here.\n\nStateline, Nev. \u2013 U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) attended the 4th annual Lake Tahoe Electric Transportation Forum to speak with advocates, businesses, and Tahoe organizations about Nevada\u2019s leadership in the clean energy economy. She also discussed the three bills she recently introduced to make electric vehicles and other clean transportation technologies more accessible to consumers.\n\nBelow are her remarks as prepared for delivery:\n\nGood morning!\n\nI am grateful to have the opportunity to join you today and hear more about all the good work that you are doing to support clean transportation in the Tahoe Basin and throughout the Silver State.\n\nI want to extend a special thank you to Kevin for his hard work organizing the Lake Tahoe Electric Transportation Forum. I am grateful for the time you put into organizing such an important conversation about expanding access to electric transportation in the State of Nevada.\n\nThe industry is lucky to have such a beautiful venue to gather and collaborate!\n\nLike all of you, I know that clean transportation isn\u2019t just about expanding access to electric vehicles and installing charging ports. We also need to ensure that we have a strong domestic supply chain for everything from critical minerals to battery manufacturing.\n\nYou have my support in every step of this process. By bolstering our clean transportation industry we\u2019re doing so much more than putting cars on the road \u2013 we\u2019re creating good-paying jobs, helping Nevadans get where they need to go, combating climate change, and bringing down costs for everyone.\n\nI\u2019ve been interested in the clean energy industry, particularly the critical minerals supply chain, since my time as Nevada\u2019s Attorney General. While in office, I traveled extensively in all 17 of Nevada\u2019s counties \u2013 something I still do each year \u2013 and I saw how important the mining industry is to our rural communities.\n\nSince then, the electric vehicle supply chain in Nevada, especially Northern Nevada, has expanded dramatically.\n\nFollowing the 2008 recession, the Silver State made historic investments in battery manufacturing. In 2016, Gigafactory Nevada opened in Storey County, creating tens of thousands of jobs and putting Nevada on the frontline of the clean energy economy with our partners at Tesla and Panasonic.\n\nThe regional industry has only continued to expand, and I\u2019ve had the opportunity to tour everything from battery recycling facilities with ten employees to manufacturing operations that are supporting thousands of workers.\n\nNevada is leading the clean energy revolution in the U.S. and hosts the nation\u2019s most complete \u201clithium loop\u201d needed for lithium battery manufacturing and recycling. That\u2019s one reason why I like to call it the Innovation State.\n\nSince being elected to the Senate in 2016, I have been committed to fighting for Nevada\u2019s zero-emission transportation industry.\n\nOver the past ten years, I\u2019ve seen our summers get even hotter, our fire seasons grow more severe, and our drought worsen.\n\nBut on top of expanding clean energy generation, I\u2019ve also seen our clean transportation options become more accessible. I\u2019ve seen Tahoe roll out its first electric transit buses and EV charging ports go up in towns as remote as Panaca, Nevada. And I\u2019ve seen our country\u2019s clean energy manufacturing industry boom.\n\nThat\u2019s why I\u2019m so excited to be here today \u2013 to talk about the work we\u2019ve already done to help drive investment and interest in clean transportation, and to discuss what we still need to do.\n\nSome of the legislation supporting electric vehicles that I\u2019ve worked on during my time in the Senate as part of my Innovation State Initiative were the bills I passed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.\n\nThese laws extended tax credits for consumers purchasing both new and used electric vehicles and expanded needed charging infrastructure. The IRA and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law put this cutting-edge, cost-saving technology in the hands of more working families.\n\nThese laws also expanded electric options for public transportation and school buses.\n\nBut the support didn\u2019t stop there \u2013 these historic laws also created grants for battery and critical minerals programs, providing meaningful federal support for every step of the electric transportation supply chain.\n\nSince 2022, we have seen the benefits of not only these policies, but the message they sent that the federal government was invested in putting this technology in the hands of more Americans. In fact, over the past five years, EV registrations have increased by nearly 420 percent in the Silver State!\n\nNow, the current Administration has sought to illegally hamper this progress. But I\u2019m not done fighting. No matter who the President is, I\u2019m going to keep working to help Nevada families access electric transportation.\n\nIn fact, this month, I introduced a package of three bills to make electric vehicles and other clean transportation technologies more accessible to consumers throughout the country.\n\nThis package included my Cleaner TRAILS Initiative, which would make it easier for travelers to use electric vehicles on public lands. It would add zero-emission fueling infrastructure at National Parks and U.S. Forest Service Sites \u2013 including sites here in Tahoe \u2013 and near airports.\n\nThis new initiative would help everyone from international visitors to families on the great American road trip travel without facing spiking gas prices.\n\nBy supporting EV infrastructure at these tourist destinations, we can help make electric vehicles a real and easy option for all types of travelers. And I\u2019m not just talking about cars \u2013 my Cleaner TRAILS Initiative would support electric bikes, boats, and ATVs as well!\n\nMy bill package also includes the Clean Transportation Jobs and Development Act which strengthens the clean energy and transportation supply chain by supporting domestic critical mineral mining and battery manufacturing and recycling.\n\nIt also invests in research and development to accelerate improving technologies to help batteries go farther and for all of these exciting technologies to become more affordable to the consumer.\n\nAmong the additional provisions included in my bill package, there is language to restore the consumer tax credits for the purchase of electric vehicles and to install charging equipment.\n\nNow is the time to move forward on electric vehicles, not backward.\n\nGas prices are on the rise, and the consequences of dependence on fossil fuels are becoming more apparent. The choices that we make today will impact generations of Nevadans.\n\nIncreased electric vehicle use will reduce pollution, combat climate change, and help keep Lake Tahoe Blue for years to come.\n\nThe advancements we\u2019re making also support our national defense and our global economic competitiveness. Batteries and critical minerals are vital to everything from equipment to keep our soldiers safe, to our everyday consumer technologies like cell phones.\n\nI\u2019ve never been someone who is going to tell Nevadans they have to abandon their gas-powered cars. But together, we are making EVs an easy, cost-effective, attractive choice for Nevadans from all walks of life. And getting EVs on the road lessens our demand for oil and gas at a time when gas prices are at an all-time high.\n\nThat\u2019s what\u2019s so exciting about this work! Every day, I see the benefits of hard work and innovation, and I know you all do as well. And thank you for the jobs and opportunities you\u2019re creating to diversify our Nevada economy.\n\nWe can\u2019t continue this work alone. It requires collaboration up and down the supply chain and between the private and public sectors. That\u2019s why I am so grateful to have all of you here today.\n\nThank you all again for having me, and I hope that you have a productive event.\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-21T05:30:57Z", "2026-08-21T05:32:22Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.cortezmasto.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cortez-masto-attends-lake-tahoe-electric-transportation-forum-discusses-her-new-electric-vehicle-bill-package/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8695549331605434, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}