Johnson Bill Provides Flexibility for Millions of Dollars of State Infrastructure Funding

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) introduced the Highway Funding Flexibility Act to allow state governments to reallocate unobligated funds from federal electric vehicle (EV) programs.

The Highway Funding Flexibility Act will give states the authority to decide how best to use these dollars to meet their unique needs. Eligible uses include engineering, design, construction, reconstruction, resurfacing, restoration, and rehabilitation of roads, bridges, and truck parking facilities. South Dakota has $29 million that cannot currently be spent on other priority infrastructure needs, due to bureaucratic red tape from the Biden Administration.

"American infrastructure is lagging behind our competitors, especially China's, and we lack the infrastructure to support a full switch to electric vehicles," said Johnson. "The EV priorities of the Biden Administration have passed, and states are left with money they cannot use. Meanwhile, our roads are filled with potholes and there are bridges that need to be rebuilt. My bill will release these EV funds to empower states to fund the projects that are the biggest priority for them - not for a political agenda."

"Despite billions of taxpayer dollars being allocated for the NEVI program, only a few dozen EV chargers were installed over the course of several years due to the poorly planned rollout. As radical EV mandates are repealed and consumer interest in EVs wanes, it is time to finally put an end to this boondoggle," said Henry Hanscom, Senior Vice President of Legislative Affairs American Trucking Associations. "The trucking industry commends Rep. Johnson for introducing the Highway Funding Flexibility Act, which will repurpose these investments for more worthwhile projects. By removing bureaucratic red tape, states will be better able to meet pressing infrastructure needs, such as repairing roads and bridges and alleviating congestion that costs our supply chain over $100 billion annually."

The Highway Funding Flexibility Actis cosponsored by U.S. Representatives Jefferson Shreve (R-IN) and Jeff Hurd (R-CO).

U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) introduced identical legislationin the U.S. Senate.

Background:

The Biden Administration's federal infrastructure funding heavily prioritized electric vehicles (EVs). While consumers should have the freedom to choose the vehicle that best fits their needs, it is short-sighted to reshape an entire transportation system around a single type of vehicle.

America lacks the infrastructure for charging and implementing a full switch to EVs, and these vehicles continue to face performance challenges in common weather conditions like floods and extreme cold. Moreover, the U.S. remains overly dependent on countries like China for critical EV components, further compromising our energy and supply chain security.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Actprovided $5 billion for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, and $2.5 billion for the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program, totaling $7.5 billion. Of the $5 billion appropriated for the NEVI program, 84% remains unobligated.

In February, President Trump paused these EV programs.

Click herefor Highway Funding Flexibility Actbill text.