The U.S. Senate voted 69-30 in favor of passing a sweeping $1.2 trillion infrastructure package today that will fund projects like roads, bridges, rail, transit, and the electric grid, reports CNN.
Most notably for the automotive industry, the bipartisan bill includes $7.5 billion in funding to help create a network of EV charging stations across the U.S. It also contains a further $7.5 billion to help transition buses and other forms of public transit away from fossil fuels and toward zero-emissions options.
The move supports the White House’s plan to get automakers to voluntarily make 50% of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. all-electric by 2030.
Read Also: President Biden Aims For 50% Of New Vehicles To Be Electrified In 2030
Although the move is part of the Biden administration’s wider pledge to support electric vehicles and tackle climate change, many Democrats say that the plan doesn’t do enough.
“Of course, we Democrats believe we need to do much more,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said, per NPR. “We are moving on to a second track, which will make generational transformation.”
After passing this bill, which had bipartisan support, the Senate voted to begin the debate on an even broader $3.5 trillion budget resolution that includes $198 billion for the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, largely related to clean energy development.
The bill could also contain $85 billion in funding for EV charging infrastructure, Reuters reported yesterday.
“A rapid and extensive build-out of electric vehicle charging infrastructure supported by the federal government is crucial if consumers are to adopt zero-emission vehicles at the scale and pace needed to stave off climate catastrophe,” Democratic leaders said.
For now, though, the infrastructure bill is a feather in Biden‘s cap and a bipartisan one, too, since it received the support of 19 Republicans.
