A group of 28 U.S. House Democrats says the $1 trillion infrastructure bill poised for a U.S. Senate vote falls short in funding a network of charging stations for electric vehicles.
Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell is one of the top signatories of a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Dingell said the country should be putting $85 billion toward an electric vehicle charging network.
She said that will help instill confidence that electric vehicles are good for the environment and practical for consumers.
“We have to have goals. We have to have targets. But we have to be intentional about the work that we do to meet those goals. And this is one of the most important goals we have to protect our climate, to protect our economy, and to protect our worker,” Dingell said.
Dingell said that’s critical to reach President Joe Biden’s goal of electric vehicles making up half of new vehicle sales by 2030.
“We have to make the investment so that consumers will buy the vehicles with confidence that they’ve got a battery that has range; that there’s an infrastructure that they’re going to be able to recharge their vehicles; and we have to upgrade our power grid.”
Representatives Brenda Lawrence and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan also signed the letter.
So did House Transportation Committee Chair Peter DeFazio.