Providing for Congressional Disapproval Under the Rule Submitted By the Federal Highway Administration Relating to ``Waiver of Buy America Requirements for Electric Vehicle Chargers''

Floor Speech

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Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Speaker, this pointless resolution would not only harm the advancement of EVs in the United States, but it would also allow more work to be offshored to other countries. I strongly oppose this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Among its many historic firsts, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invested $7.5 billion in EV charging infrastructure through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program. I am proud of the work that we did on this landmark funding that stems from a bill that I introduced, the Clean Corridors Act, that was incorporated into the infrastructure bill. It is already helping create a network of EV chargers to help with the implementation of alternative fuels and the dynamic investment in electric vehicles and hydrogen-fueled cars.

On a side note, one of the grants was included in the district I represent between the local library district and the Federal Government to install chargers at public libraries.

Unfortunately, the resolution we are considering today would remove certainty from EV charger construction and put good-paying jobs here in the U.S. at risk in the long-term and in the short-term. The lack of certainty would also further delay construction deployment and hinder consumers' use of EVs.

With the transportation sector making up almost 30 percent of the country's greenhouse gas emissions, we must continue to do everything we can to transition to cleaner fuels and provide certainty for the industry to help combat climate change. We need available, reliable EV chargers to make that a reality considering the global implications.

I strongly oppose this bill and the partisan efforts to thwart EV deployment.

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