Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon grilled Biden administration officials at a hearing on Wednesday about the slow progress on a plan to build electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.
The $7.5 billion program to build charging stations is part of bipartisan infrastructure legislation. according to According to a White House fact sheet, Merkley asked Federal Highway Administration Administrator Shailene Bhatt about the progress of construction of the charging stations. Hearing It was held by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. (RELATED: ‘They’re crazy about electricity’: Trump mocks push for electric tanks, planes)
“The infrastructure bill will fund, as you say, 500,000 charging ports,” Merkley told Butt. “How many of those charging ports have been installed?”
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Democratic senators criticize Biden administration for slow rollout of major EV program pic.twitter.com/Ldj1dhJ8Jo
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“Part of the bipartisan infrastructure fund, yes, six states have put money into it,” Butt responded. “A few dozen ports, I think less than 100 ports.”
A total of eight charging stations were built using funding from the infrastructure bill signed into law by President Joe Biden in November 2021, according to AutoWeek.
Merkley responded by asking Butt about figures cited by “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan in a May 26 interview with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
“Only seven people have listened,” Merkley told Butt, who confirmed the figure, to which Merkley replied, “That’s pathetic.”
Biden signed the Inflation-Blocking Act in August 2022, which includes a $7,500 tax credit for EVs, and has promoted the adoption of EVs, including by imposing stricter regulations on light, medium and large vehicles. (Related: “A blow to Michigan and Detroit”: Trump criticizes Biden’s EV push as “government assassination” of auto jobs)
“Without charging infrastructure, we can’t rely on electric vehicles. This bill was passed several years ago, but the fact that we haven’t built a single charging station in my state and there are only seven in the entire country — you’re right, there are seven — is a major administrative failure,” Merkley told Butt.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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