With Already Insufficient Clean Car Funding Now At Risk In Bipartisan Deal, Democrats Must Fill The EV Gap In Reconciliation Bill

Today, amid reporting that the paltry $15 billion originally allocated for electric vehicles (EVs) in the bipartisan infrastructure framework may be cut or diverted to pay for polluting fossil fuel vehicles, Evergreen Action released a new policy memo outlining steps that Congressional Democrats must take to fulfil President Biden’s commitments and ensure that America seizes the opportunity to create jobs, slash carbon pollution and put the U.S in a leadership position in the global EV market.

The memo, 5 Clean Car Investments Congress Must Make to Meet Biden’s Climate Commitments, has been circulated to key offices on Capitol Hill and outlines essential EV investments that Democratic lawmakers must make in the reconciliation infrastructure bill in order to combat the climate crisis, reduce toxic air pollution that disproportionately sickens communities of color, and kickstart clean car manufacturing that puts millions of Americans to work in good-paying jobs.

“An infrastructure package that underfunds clean cars risks undermining President Biden’s entire climate agenda,” said Evergreen Action Deputy Policy Director Becca Ellison. “Congress has an opportunity to deliver historic investments needed to grow our clean car economy, but the bipartisan infrastructure deal falls miles short of what is necessary. This new memo charts a path for Congress to lead on clean cars, with a plan that creates good jobs, frees Americans from pain at the pump, and eliminates a toxic source of deadly pollution.” 

Rapidly deploying clean cars is critical to defeating the climate crisis. Doing so could help get America nearly a quarter of the way to meeting the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) that President Biden laid out in April, promising a 50-52% reduction in domestic greenhouse gas pollution by 2030. After the Clean Electricity Standard, electric vehicle investments would be the second greatest driver of decarbonization in the reconciliation package—and would be a catalyst to ensure the U.S. can win the EV market and build a clean energy economy that works for everyone. 

To realize these opportunities, Democrats in Congress must pass robust clean car investments this summer. The memo highlights key investments in the 5 areas below, which, when coupled with the administration’s full use of existing regulatory authorities, can build America’s clean car future: 

1. Equitable Consumer Incentives for Electric Vehicles

2. Clean Car Manufacturing 

3. Clean Car Charging Infrastructure

4. Federal Fleet Procurement

5. Clean Electricity

Read the full memo here.

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