Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg appeared on CBS’s Sunday Confronting the state He explains why the Biden administration has only been able to build “seven or eight” electric vehicle (EV) charging stations so far.
As Breitbart News points out, the Inflation Control Act of 2022 allocates $7.5 billion for EV stations as part of building a nationwide EV charging infrastructure, but no EV charging stations have been built by the end of 2023.
By April, only seven or eight sites had been built under the program, while the fossil fuel industry has been reaping the benefits by lobbying to build stations at existing gas stations.
VIDEO: CBS’ Margaret Brennan laughs in Buttigieg’s face when he can’t explain why only seven or eight electric vehicle charging stations have been built, despite the Biden administration spending $7.5 billion on building chargers. pic.twitter.com/BmFK17Dk5O
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) May 26, 2024
of Transcript From CBS:
MARGARET BRENNAN: Obviously, that’s resonating with him. He wouldn’t be bringing this up as often as he does if he wasn’t stoking fears. So I want to ask you about an area that seems to be in your purview, which is, you mentioned charging stations. According to the Federal Highway Administration, only seven or eight charging stations were built with the $7.5 billion in taxpayer-funded investment in 2021. Why aren’t they being built faster?
SECRETARY BUTIGIEG: The President’s goal is to install 500,000 chargers by the end of this decade. Installing chargers requires more than just burying a little device in the ground. It requires public works, and it’s a new area of federal investment. But we’re working with all 50 states, and each state is getting a set amount of funding to do this work.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But seven, eight?
SECRETARY BUTIGIEG: With their help, we’re going to build 500,000 chargers by 2030. And those first few chargers are already under construction. But again, this is just the beginning of what’s to come.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes, but that means you can’t enable long-distance travel quickly without the infrastructure to support it.
SECRETARY BUTIGIEGG: Right. So.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So you recognize that that’s the way it should be.
SECRETARY BUTIGIEG: Right now, most of the charging infrastructure is provided by the private sector. The reason we’re bringing in federal funding is to fill in the gaps where the private sector hasn’t made a dent yet. And again, the vast majority of charging is going to happen at home…
The main reasons for the delays are local zoning restrictions and red tape, which the Biden administration has not made much effort to overcome. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, tended to eliminate them whenever possible in his administration’s projects.
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday The show airs Sunday nights from 7 to 10 p.m. (4 to 7 p.m. ET) on SiriusXM Patriot. He recently published an e-book,Trumpian virtue: The lessons and legacy of Donald Trump’s presidency” is available on Audible. He is also the author of an e-book. Not Free or Fair: The 2020 US Presidential ElectionHe is the recipient of the Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship in 2018. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
