Senator Ernst aims to terminate $7.5 billion EV charger program

Senator Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, is planning to introduce a bill to eliminate President Joe Biden’s $7.5 billion initiative in support of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.

Obtained by the Daily Caller, the proposed legislation is aimed at the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which allocated funds for two programs: the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, receiving a $5 billion grant, and the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) grant program, granted $2.5 billion.

The bill aims to repeal these programs and save taxpayers the remaining unspent portion of the allocated $7.5 billion. Ernst emphasized that despite being part of the infrastructure bill, NEVI and CFI have seen limited success, resulting in only two operational charging stations in Ohio and New York after more than two years.

Ernst criticized the administration, stating, “Unlike this summer when staff for the secretary of energy caused a backup by blocking off a charging station to stage a photo op, there’s no waiting to use these stations. During its first four days in operation, the Ohio station was used for a total of just four hours. Maybe that is because the Biden chargers are not compatible with Tesla vehicles, the most popular EVs in the country.”

She questioned the initiative’s effectiveness: “Folks, only in Washington would spending billions of dollars to open just two charging stations be touted as a national success story. This money would be better left in the pockets, or stockings, of taxpayers to help cover the cost of basic necessities that are getting more and more expensive because of Bidenomics.”

Four other federal programs already support EV charging stations, including the Clean Cities Program, the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Tax Credit, and Electrify America.