As President Joe Biden’s term comes to an end, social media users are falsely claiming that his administration has spent billions of dollars building just a handful of electric vehicle charging stations. Several high-profile figures, including sitting members of Congress, have promoted the claims.
The claims misrepresent the funding earmarked by the Infrastructure and Jobs Act of 2021, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, for a national network of publicly available electric vehicle chargers. Biden has set a goal of creating 500,000 such chargers by 2030.
Here’s a closer look at the facts.
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CLAIM: The Biden administration has spent $7.5 billion to build eight electric vehicle charging stations.
THE FACTS: That is incorrect. The $7.5 billion figure refers to the total amount allocated through the 2021 law to build a network of charging stations in the US, not the amount already spent. There are currently 214 operational chargers in 12 states funded through the law, and according to the Federal Highway Administration, 24,800 projects are underway nationwide.
A charger, often called a charging port, provides electrical power to one vehicle at a time through a connector connected to the vehicle. Stations are physical locations that can have multiple chargers.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called the claims spread online “false” in a series of X-posts.
“$7.5 billion has not been spent nor anything like that,” he wrote, adding that federally funded chargers are built by individual states, not the federal government, and that most will be delivered in the second half of the 2020s built.
The total funding of $7.5 billion consists of $5 billion distributed through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program (NEVI), and $2.5 billion distributed through the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program (CFI).
NEVI funds, as determined by a formula, will go annually to transportation departments in all 50 states, plus Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, from 2022 to 2026. The funds will be available until 2030. Each year, 10% of NEVI funding is reserved for states and local governments that need additional assistance.
CFI provides grants to states and other localities through an application process. It funds electric vehicle charging, as well as other alternative fuel infrastructure, with a focus on underserved and underserved communities.
Rep. Michael Rulli, an Ohio Republican, was among several high-profile figures who falsely claimed this week that the entire budget has already been spent.
“Pete Buttigieg will leave his position as Secretary of Transportation after spending $7.5 BILLION to build 8 EV charging stations,” he wrote in an X-post that had received about 62,900 likes and shares as of Wednesday. “His legacy will waste billions on something no one wants while millions struggle to afford the things they need.”
Rulli’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
As of early this year, only four states — Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and Hawaii — had opened stations funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, The Associated Press reported in March. A Washington Post article published the next day mentioned just seven stations.
Loren McDonald, an independent analyst who tracks the electric vehicle charger buildout, told the AP that in assessing the progress made, it is important to understand that some states have extensive experience building electric vehicle charging infrastructure, while others have little to no experience. He explained that Wisconsin, for example, had to pass a new law to meet federal requirements.
“This is a federal program, but ultimately it is completely dependent on the states,” he said. “And so the real criticism should probably be directed at the states that are moving slowly or at the way the program was structured. But I don’t know how you would have done it differently.”
When asked if the federal government could do anything to help states move forward faster, McDonald suggested it could have given them more guidance on how to manage their individual buildouts.
According to the Federal Highway Administration, all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia have access to two rounds of NEVI funding totaling nearly $2.4 billion. As of Friday, 37 states will have access to their third round of funding, for an additional $586 million. However, the agency explained that this does not include money that has already been spent, but only the money available to finance projects.
The Federal Highway Administration has announced more than $1.3 billion in grants through CFI and funds set aside by NEVI, with $779 million in grants currently available under both programs. This also concerns money that is available for projects, and not money that has been spent.
There are currently more than 203,000 publicly available charging ports in the U.S., with nearly 1,000 turned on every week, according to the agency. This is more than double the amount available in 2021. In addition to NEVI and CFI, funding sources include federal tax incentives and private investments.
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Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.
