Washington, D.C.—The following are opening remarks, as prepared for delivery, from Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) during today’s hearing titled, “It’s Electric: A Review of Fleet Electrification Efforts.”
Video of Ranking Member Larsen’s and Norton’s opening statements arehereandhere.
More information on the hearing can be foundhere.
Ranking Member Larsen:
Thank you, Chairman Crawford and Ranking Member Norton, for holding this hearing.
I too would like to take this opportunity to express sadness at the loss of my friend and colleague, Congressman Donald M. Payne, Jr. He was a fierce advocate for the traveling public and a friend to everyone who knew him. He will be dearly missed.
Turning to today’s hearing, electric vehicles are steadily increasing on the nation’s roadways, moving both people and goods.
Today’s hearing focuses on fleet electrification efforts across the passenger vehicle, trucking and transit sectors.
Each of these modes has unique needs and challenges that must be addressed to support a smooth transition to a cleaner and greener surface transportation system.
I will note some of the rhetoric from the Chairman, I agree with a lot of his criticisms about how quickly things are moving. We might also differ on solutions, but I do not disagree with some of the challenges he laid out.
I will note fleet electrification is not only good for the climate; it is critical to enhancing the nation’s economic competitiveness.
The International Energy Agency reports that “the number of electric cars sold globally in the first three months of this year is roughly equivalent to the number sold in all of 2020.”
In 2024, EVs could reach up to 45 percent of new car sales in China and 25 percent in Europe. In the U.S., that projection is just over 10 percent.
America’s economic competitors are investing in EVs. The United States cannot take a back seat in this race.
Electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle registrations reached record levels in my home state last year, with Washington seeing the biggest increase in EV market share of any state.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is supporting the adoption of EVs in Washington state and nationwide by providing funding and supporting domestic manufacturing and supply chains for critical minerals including:
This funding is critical to filling initial market gaps, supporting broader deployment and enhancing domestic supply chains.
Policy changes in the BIL, including new, stronger Buy America standards for EV chargers, are ensuring this funding goes further to support domestic manufacturing.
Just three years ago, the production of fast chargers was almost non-existent. Now, there are at least 26 companies manufacturing these products within the U.S.
Last week, I attended an EV charger installation and training event at the Mount Vernon Library Commons in my district.
This event showcased how $12.5 million from BIL Charging and Fueling Infrastructure grants is being used to install 78 public EV charging ports at the Library Commons project.
This event also featured an installation demonstration in partnership with International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 191 and the private sector National Electrical Contractors Association Cascade Chapter.
These organizations partnered to provide training for journeymen, apprentices and other electrical workers under collective bargaining agreements in the EV industry.
This example shows that investing in fleet electrification benefits U.S. workers and creates jobs that pay well.
Also in my district, truck manufacturer PACCAR is using their test center, which is located in the Port of Skagit, and which Chair Graves and I visited along with Reps. Brownley and DeSaulnier last year. They’re using their test center to validate the next generation of clean commercial vehicles and I’m sure that they would love to have any other Member of Congress visit their facilities to see what this major truck manufacturer is doing on clean commercial vehicles.
Today, they offer six battery electric truck models and are developing technologies including hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks and internal combustion engines running on hydrogen to get ahead of the market.
While access to EV chargers has grown significantly–up nearly 85 percent in three years–almost all of this growth has been driven by private investment.
A lot of work remains to ensure communities receive the full benefit of BIL funding.
To date, states have opened only eight charging stations through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, leading to legitimate questions and criticism of publicly funded charger deployments.
The slow pace of deployment is partly because the Administration took time to ensure that these chargers will be made in the U.S. by U.S. workers and to establish standards to create a consistent user experience at the stations.
However, as we will hear in today’s testimony, because NEVI projects are delivered by state DOTs, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, a patchwork of program requirements has complicated deployment.
Private businesses looking to build out EV chargers must navigate 52 unique programs, which has slowed deployment and caused confusion.
I urge the Federal Highway Administration and the newly-created Joint Office of Energy and Transportation to update their guidance to make the process more uniform.
Electrification challenges are not unique to passenger vehicles. The trucking and transit sectors are working to transition their fleets and face challenges with range, cost and the limited number of manufacturers. On the other hand, in transit, they seem to be navigating this fairly well.
Through innovation and collaboration between the public and private sector, I believe the U.S. can overcome these challenges and deliver benefits for the economy, the environment, and U.S. workers.
We are still in the early stages of this major transition.
This will not be as simple as flipping a switch—apologize for the pun—and the federal government will continue to play an important role.
BIL initiatives are starting to fill in gaps in the market and support the onshoring of the manufacturing process.
Congress and the Administration must work with global partners to secure supply chains for critical minerals that are essential to EVs and EV infrastructure, for instance, a newly announced effort between the U.S. and Norway to get a critical minerals agreement.
Without continued federal support and action, the United States risks falling further behind our competitors in a crucial industry—something no one wants.
Thank you to each of the witnesses for being here today, and I look forward to the discussion.
Ranking Member Norton:
Before I address the topic of this hearing, I would like to take a moment to remember my friend Congressman Donald Payne, Jr. He and I worked closely together in the Congressional Black Caucus and on this Committee. His leadership and his commitment to public service will be deeply missed.
I would like to thank Subcommittee Chair Rick Crawford for holding this hearing on electric vehicles.
We are in the midst of a substantial change in our transportation system. For years, cars, trucks and transit lines have run primarily on gas and diesel.
While these fuels powered our economy and our mobility, we have also paid a high price for our reliance on fossil fuels.
Transportation pollution causes heart attacks, asthma attacks, low infant birth weights and premature death.
It also contributes significantly to the warming of our planet. Transportation is responsible for 29 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
Over half of that comes from passenger cars and light-duty trucks, and almost a quarter of that comes from medium- and heavy-duty trucks.
That means this Subcommittee has a significant responsibility in finding a path forward toward a cleaner future.
Part of that means giving people more transportation choices—including rail, transit, walking and biking—that produce fewer emissions than driving.
But many Americans rely on driving as their primary mode of transportation, and electric vehicles have a significant role to play as well.
Thanks to the strong environmental policies championed by this Committee last Congress, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act have put us on a better course.
This includes the $5 billion for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, the $2.5 billion for the Charging and Fueling Grants program, and the $5.6 billion for the Low- and No-Emission Bus grant program.
Congress gave the Biden Administration a tall order in creating the new electric vehicle charging programs. We first required them to establish the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation to ensure coordinated federal investments and policies.
We required them to issue detailed technical specifications, to make sure that federally funded chargers met certain quality standards.
And the Biden Administration chose to issue stronger Buy America standards for electric vehicle chargers to ensure that our federal programs are supporting jobs here in the U.S.
We also required states to create strategic plans to ensure investments are targeted wisely.
All of this had to happen before projects went out to bid. I know some have raised concerns about the pace at which these new programs are unfolding.
It is important to deploy chargers as quickly as possible to help spur the transition to clean vehicles. But it is also important to get these programs right—and I appreciate the Biden Administration’s commitment to doing so.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today about any recommendations to improve these programs.
I also look forward to discussing the Low- and No-Emission Bus grant program. While the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provided a significant funding increase for the program, demand for these grants still far exceeds available funding.
Electrification of our transit systems can provide a roadmap for electrifying other fleets, including our commercial motor vehicles.
Moving to a cleaner transportation system will require a good-faith partnership between all levels of government, manufacturers, shippers, utilities and technology companies.
I hope all our witnesses will contribute to finding solutions, and I look forward to your testimony.
I would like to close by reiterating my strong opposition to H.R. 7526, the D.C. Consumer Vehicle Choice Protection Act, which would repeal the District of Columbia’s regulation adopting Advanced Clean Cars 2. This bill, which the Committee on Oversight and Accountability passed last month, is an attack on D.C. home rule, the environment and public health.
