The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 allocated $7.5 billion for electric vehicle charging infrastructure. With a large portion of that money still unused, Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., wants to give states the ability to redirect those funds to address the lack of truck parking.
Lummis pitched the idea to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy during a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on Wednesday, April 2.
Saying that electric vehicles don’t work as well in cold areas such as Wyoming, Lummis suggested that states should be able to use that money elsewhere. In March, she introduced the Highway Funding Flexibility Act, which “frees up money stuck in accounts intended to fund Biden’s radical EV charger initiative …”
“Wyoming and other states have millions of dollars sitting idle in accounts for chargers that they just can’t build,” Lummis said. “(The bill) would authorize states to redirect unused EV charger funds to roads and bridges. And then highway safety priorities like truck parking and wildlife crossings also could be eligible. It would empower states like Wyoming to devote money to real highway needs with potentially billions nationwide for addressing infrastructure priorities.”
Lummis, who introduced the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act in the previous congressional session, used some of her time to discuss the nationwide truck parking crisis.
Studies indicate that there is only one truck parking space for every 11 truckers. With the truck stops full, truck drivers are often forced to park in dangerous locations, such as the shoulder of a highway, in order to comply with federal hours-of-service regulations.
“There’s a rule that you can only drive a certain number of hours and then you absolutely have to stop,” Lummis said. “And there’s no place for them to park.”
Duffy said that it is up to Congress to decide whether to redirect the EV charger money, but he agreed that the lack of truck parking is a real concern.
“It’s a safety issue, and we have to address it,” Duffy said.
Highway Trust Fund
In addition to limitations in cold areas, Lummis was critical of electric vehicles not paying into the Highway Trust Fund. This fund, which is the main funding source for highway and bridge projects, currently generates revenue through fuel taxes.
Despite having heavier batteries, electric vehicles do not contribute to the fund.
“We’re all going to have to work together to find a way that electric vehicles can help contribute to the maintenance of our nation’s roads and bridges,” Lummis said.
Suggestions on how to do that include the Fair SHARE Act, which would impose one-time fees on electric vehicles at the manufacturer level. A vehicle-miles-traveled tax has been sought in recent years, as well.
“I also do believe that EVs should pay part of the cost for the roads and bridges that they use,” Duffy said. “How you do that is a question that we’ll have to grapple with.”
Project backlog
Several lawmakers questioned Duffy about waiting for funding on projects that had been approved under the previous administration.
He blamed the backlog on a “historic” number of projects that were granted in the final months of the Biden administration. Duffy said the previous DOT staff left him with a total of 3,200 awarded projects lacking signed grant agreements.
“Between Obama and Donald Trump, there were 47 projects announced between Election Day and inauguration,” Duffy said. “Between Trump and Biden, there were 107 projects announced between Election Day and Inauguration Day. In this last term, there were about 950 projects announced. There has been a massive number of announcements – historic – but that means our department has to do the work. The announcements are fun, but grant agreements are the work. I’m going to get through that, but it’s going to take some time.” LL
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