Rep. Foxx Responds to 10-Year-Old's EV Rebate Essay

A 10-year-old fourth grader from Greensboro, North Carolina, received a pointed response from U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx after sending her a persuasive essay as part of a school assignment advocating for a $5,000 federal tax rebate on electric vehicle purchases.

Christian Mango, a student at Canterbury School, chose the topic himself and mailed the letter in April to Foxx, who represents North Carolina's 5th Congressional District. In his essay, he argued that electric cars are superior to traditional vehicles because they benefit the environment, cost less to operate and require no gasoline. His class had been instructed to write to a person in a position of influence, such as a lawmaker, to make their case.

Foxx replied on May 1, acknowledging shared views on American innovation in the auto industry before outlining her opposition. "What many folks do not realize is that the money that comes from the federal government actually comes from ordinary citizens who pay taxes to support that government," she wrote. "Therefore, your request that the federal government should give a $5,000 tax rebate for all new electric car purchases means that the federal government must take that...