Republicans in both chambers who are poised to play major roles in writing the next surface transportation bill signaled interest Thursday in ensuring that electric vehicles pay for road usage as a way to help bolster revenues into the Highway Trust Fund.
In the House, Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.), who could be the next chair of the Transportation Committee, told POLITICO that he wants to expand the kinds of vehicles that pay into the HTF, saying he wants to take a “fuel agnostic” approach. He said lawmakers don’t have all the answers yet, but “we’re gonna work on it.”
On the Senate side, when asked Thursday if the HTF’s worsening revenue gap deserves attention, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) agreed — but didn’t directly answer a question about whether she’d favor a new fee intended to capture road use for EVs, beyond saying it’s something to examine. Capito is expected to take the gavel of the Environment and Public Works Committee.
“We’re going to have to be more creative than we have in the past, but I’m not sure what that looks like,” said Capito, who also mentioned how automakers have recently been “kind of pulling back” on EVs.
