A bipartisan package includes the largest-ever federal spending for electric vehicle charging stations, public transit, and clean water.
The bill would spend $7.5 billion on the first federal effort to build a network of electric vehicle charging stations around the country. Credit…Philip Cheung for The New York Times
By Coral Davenport and Lisa Friedman NY Times, July 28, 2021
WASHINGTON — The $1 trillion infrastructure deal reached by a bipartisan group of senators on Wednesday would make a significant down payment on President Biden’s ambitious environmental agenda, including the first federal expenditure on electric vehicle charging stations and the largest investment in public transit and clean water systems in the nation’s history.
The plan also includes the first federal spending designated for “climate resilience” — to adapt and rebuild roads, ports, and bridges to withstand the damages wrought by the rising sea levels, stronger storms, and more devastating heat waves that will come as the planet continues to warm.
But the money for provisions to cut the pollution fueling climate change is a fraction of the $2 trillion that Mr. Biden once vowed to spend. The White House sees the bipartisan measure, which includes $550 billion in new spending, as a first step toward passing a separate $3.5 trillion bill that Democrats hope to push through this fall on a party-line basis, over the objection of Republicans.
Democrats intend to build significant climate programs into that second bill, including a provision that would essentially pay electric utilities to generate energy from nonpolluting sources and tax incentives for consumers to buy electric vehicles.
The Transition to Electric Cars
- How Long Until Electric Rules? A new car sold today can last a decade or two before retiring. With more electric cars being sold, how long until they rule the road?
- G.M.’s Electric Car Goals: The car manufacturer plans to sell only zero-emission vehicles by 2035.
- What Can the Power Grid Handle? Four key things that need to happen before the U.S. power grid can handle a surge in electric vehicles.
- Benefits of Electric Cars: They benefit both the environment and your wallet.
- A Guide to Buying Electric: Shopping for an electric car can be exciting and bewildering. Consider what kind of car you want and need and where you will charge.
“As climate policy, this is an appetizer,” Senator Brian Schatz, Democrat of Hawaii, said of the package unveiled on Wednesday. “It’s not the main course.”
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