The House of Representatives recently gave the public the gift of consumer choice when it passed the Choice in Automobile Retail Sales Act, known as the CARS Act . Imagine that! People can decide the size, practicality, and performance of what they can afford to buy and use.

The bill would stop the Environmental Protection Agency from implementing extreme regulations on emissions standards for our automobiles and thwart politicians who believe the best way to promote the wider adoption of electric vehicles is by banning the sale of gas-fueled vehicles.

This falls squarely into a free market versus government-dictate economics discussion. EV mandates simply are unrealistic for many and represent a failure to understand how consumers choose in this market.

Virginia is on the front lines of this fundamental economic debate. A law taking effect in 2024 will require Virginia to more than double its EV sales from less than 8% last year to 22% for model year 2025, as well as a total ban on the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035.

Government lords, apparently, don’t recognize facts. Consumer demand for EVs remains tepid, which is why nearly 4,000 car dealers, who understand their customers, recently wrote a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to repeal EPA mandates, including a proposal to make two-thirds of light-duty vehicles sold in the U.S. electric by 2032. The ready-fire-aim politicians may wish to require their favored vehicles to sit on car lots, but that limits options for everyday people. In fact, polling consistently shows that the public is not likely to buy an EV for their next car.

Lack of demand is only one problem. In Virginia, much of the required charging infrastructure isn’t in place. That oversight alone could cause this enforced government EV push to sputter and stop, leaving us to wonder why officials didn’t choose a more practical approach. In fact, Biden’s 2021 pledge to spend $7.5 billion to build tens of thousands of charging stations produced exactly zero chargers. That’s not a great indicator that government managers and monopoly utilities have their ducks in a row.

In states where politicians want to tie their policies to California’s emissions standards, EV mandates are facing setbacks. In Connecticut, for example, Gov. Ned Lamont (D-CT) withdrew state regulations phasing out the sale of gas cars by 2035 after the state legislature concluded the regulations’ costs and proposed timeline were not practical.

In New Jersey, Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald, a Democrat, stated , “Demanding that society and our economy change unilaterally to fit a policy is a dangerous formula.”

In Virginia, we saw political casualties in November likely influenced by this very topic. Incumbent state Sen. Monty Mason, one of the deciding votes to block the repeal of the pending mandates, lost to newcomer and EV mandate critic Danny Diggs.

We, the free people of the United States, deserve a more thoughtful, respectful approach if we want a transformation of vehicle fleets — one that listens to consumers instead of simply coercing us. Rather than deciding for the public what we are allowed to buy, lease, and drive, public officials should focus on simply giving customers the freedom to choose what car they want, whether it’s gasoline, diesel, battery, hybrid, or other. It’s called individual liberty, which is the very foundation of our country.

George Allen is the former governor and U.S. senator for the commonwealth of Virginia.