LANSING, MI (MPRN)-- A group of 28 US House Democrats say the $1 trillion, bipartisan US Senate infrastructure deal falls short in funding a network of charging stations for electric vehicles.
Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell is one of the top signatories of the letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
She says more funding for charging stations in the infrastructure bill would reassure consumers that buying an EV car or truck is a practical and economical choice.
“We have to make the investment so that consumers will buy the vehicles with confidence that they’ve got a battery that has range,” she says, “that there’s an infrastructure that they’re going to be able to recharge their vehicles; and we have to upgrade our power grid.”
The letter to Pelosi sent Monday says the $7.5 billion in the bill is not enough to do that. It says a network of charging stations should include on-the-street locations and public parking structures with access to multi-unit dwellings, commuter hubs, and other public spaces such as parks.
Dingell and 27 other House Democrats signed the letter calling for a total of $85 billion dollars in the bill for E-V charging stations. Those include Representatives Brenda Lawrence and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. House Transportation Committee Chair Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon) also signed the letter.
https://debbiedingell.house.gov/uploadedfiles/210809_leadership_ev_charging_infrastructure.pdf