Rep. Mullin’s amendment to the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 would require the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of Energy to study how retired EV batteries could support farmers and ranchers, for example by storing power for refrigeration or charging equipment.
Kevin Mullin will support efforts to repurpose retired EV batteries for agricultural use and study how they can help farms and ranches store power and charge equipment.
Occurrences
Mullin (D-CA) Amendment No. 37 Directs the USDA to study whether retired batteries can be used as power for farms and ranches
Evidence
Rep. Mullin “successfully passed an amendment to the Farm Bill” that would “require the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of Energy to study how retired EV batteries could support farmers and ranchers, for example by storing power for refrigeration or charging equipment.”
The amendment tracker lists “Mullin (D-CA) – Amendment No.37 – Directs the USDA to study whether retired batteries can be used as power for farms and ranches.”
The amendment tracker shows “Mullin #37 – Directs the USDA to study whether retired batteries can be used as power for farms and ranches.”
Assessments
The promise was to support efforts to repurpose retired EV batteries for agricultural use and study how they could help farms and ranches store power and charge equipment. Evidence shows Mullin successfully passed a House Farm Bill amendment directing USDA and DOE to study retired EV batteries for farm and ranch power uses, which clearly fulfills the study/support portion of the promise and reflects direct candidate action in the same term. However, the evidence only shows House passage of an amendment, not final enactment into law or actual implementation of a federal program to repurpose batteries. Because he materially advanced the promised policy but the available record does not show full completed delivery at the federal level, partial credit is the best fit.