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WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Congresswomen Debbie Dingell (MI-12) and Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09) led 26 of their colleagues in urging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to include $85 billion in funding for charging infrastructure to support a fully electrified transportation sector in any infrastructure package. The current Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal falls short of the necessary investments needed to build out a nationwide charging network, which would limit progress toward transitioning to a zero-emission future.

The lawmakers wrote, “By making an $85 billion investment in zero-emission charging infrastructure that will last decades, we can employ tens of thousands of Americans, all while supporting the massive adoption of clean transportation options. Funding electric vehicle infrastructure, including charging for electric vehicles and equipment of all types and sizes, will be useful to individuals, businesses, and governments, alike, across the nation. In addition to supporting the deployment of charging stations, this scale of investment will help add utility electrical capacity to enable robust charging, increasing the supply of renewable energy, and build grid resilience in the face of climate change. Such an investment also reflects the Biden-Harris Administration's Build Back Better proposal, including their goal for the deployment of 500,000 new electric vehicle charging stations.

“As we make this transition to a zero-emission vehicle future, equity must be front and center in how we build out a nationwide charging network. Our current transportation sector is inequitable and unjust, and we cannot allow ourselves to repeat the mistakes of our past. Unless we are intentional in our actions, the communities that have the most to gain from an electrified transportation sector will also be among the last and least to partake in its benefits...By working together, the House and Senate can deliver an outcomes-focused infrastructure plan that contains meaningful investments in electric vehicle charging infrastructure to support a stronger, pollution free, and equitable tomorrow.”

To view the full letter, please click here.

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