Lawmakers share concerns over how to keep electric vehicles running as US EVs spread

WASHINGTON — Electric cars are growing more popular but lawmakers in Washington have concerns about the systems needed to keep them running.

Channel 2 Washington Correspondent Samantha Manning is sharing more about how members of U.S. Congress are worried about the future of electric vehicles.

Among their concerns: What will the costs of running EVs be for the national electrical grid and what’s needed to enable more charging stations? Those concerns were among the points at a debate in Congress on Wednesday.

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Right now, Americans are sharing the roads with more electric vehicles than ever before.

There are 40 different fully electric car or truck models drivers in the U.S. can choose from, and around the world, 20% of all vehicles sold in 2023 were fully electric.

At a Senate budget meeting, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said electric vehicles are the future, and that future is coming soon.

“The writing is on the wall for us,” Whitehouse said. “Around the world the future of personal transportation is electric.”

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The Senate Committee heard from auto industry and environmental experts about the benefits and challenges from the rise of EVs. Supporters say going electric means moving away from the volatility of the oil and gas industry.

“The decisions of a dictator to invade a neighbor or a disaster on the other side of the world can send the cost of filling the tank in Denver or Des Moines soaring,” Jesse Jenkins, an assistant professor at Princeton University, told the Senate Committee.

President Joe Biden set a goal of having half of all new U.S. vehicle sales be electric by 2030 when he took office. But there’s uncertainty about whether our electric grid can handle the demand, along with more concerns about if there are enough chargers for larger EV use.

“We have set a goal and we have not put the infrastructure in place to meet that goal,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in the committee meeting.

Critics have also cautioned that communities would lose out on tax dollars from gas and diesel sales unless lawmakers make changes.

“Congress should carefully consider whether and how to replace the fossil fuel-based highway user taxes that currently support highway and mass transit with some other revenue source,” Jeff Davis, Eno Center for Transportation, said.

A few years ago, Congress passed a law to invest more in electric vehicles to try and meet Biden’s goal for 2030. It includes tax credits for drivers, money for charging stations and funding for more EV manufacturing in the U.S.

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