In late November, U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli (R-Ohio) claimed President Joe Biden’s administration had spent $7.5 billion to build only eight electric vehicle charging stations.
An electric vehicle charger is similar to a gas pump. But, instead of filling up the car with fuel, drivers refill the electric vehicle’s car battery with electricity. Electric vehicle charging stations can have multiple chargers.
“Pete Buttigieg will leave his post as Transportation Secretary having spent $7.5 BILLION to build 8 EV charging stations,” Rulli wrote in a viral X post on Nov. 24, 2024. “His legacy will be squandering billions on something nobody wants, while millions struggle to afford the things they need.”
Donald Trump Jr. shared Rulli’s post, writing, “Does not seem like a great return on investment…but hey he checked a woke box so it’s totally worth it.”
Other people on social media have made similarclaims over the past several months. VERIFY reader Rob asked us if these claims are true.
THE QUESTION
Has the Biden administration spent $7.5 billion to build eight electric vehicle charging stations?
THE SOURCES
- Infrastructure and Jobs Act
- Federal Highway Administration
- Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg
- The White House
- Associated Press report published in March 2024
- Washington Post article published in March 2024
THE ANSWER
No, the Biden administration has not spent $7.5 billion to build eight electric vehicle charging stations.
WHAT WE FOUND
Claims about the Biden administration spending $7.5 billion to build eight electric vehicle charging stations are false, according to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
The claims misrepresent funding provided by Congress to build a network of electric vehicle chargers throughout the U.S. over the span of multiple years.
The $7.5 billion figure that Rulli and others cited refers to the total amount of money allocated via the 2021 Infrastructure and Jobs Act, which is also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, for building electric vehicle chargers. Biden signed the law in November 2021.
The false claims about this funding likely stem from news reports from that date back to March 2024.
The Associated Press reported at the time that only four states – Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and Hawaii – had opened stations funded by the 2021 infrastructure law. A Washington Post article published around the same time said that amounted to only seven operational electric vehicle charging stations after two years.
But there are two key reasons why the recent viral claims about federally-funded electric vehicle charging stations are false.
First, states and communities, which use the funds to build electric vehicle chargers, have only spent a portion of the $7.5 billion in federal funding so far. And second, dozens of new charging stations have begun operating in the nine months since those initial news reports were published.
The $7.5 billion consists of funding distributed through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Program and the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure and Discretionary Grant (CFI) Program. The 2021 infrastructure law earmarked $5 billion for the NEVI Program and $2.5 billion for the CFI Program.
As of Tuesday, Jan. 7, $4.54 billion of the $7.5 billion available through the NEVI and CFI programs has been “allocated to states and other entities to proceed with their plans,” the FHWA confirmed to VERIFY. That’s about 61% of the total funding for both programs.
The claims that there are only eight charging stations currently operating are also inaccurate.
As of Friday, Jan. 3, 289 federally-funded public chargers were operational at 51 stations across 15 states, “with new chargers continuing to come online every week,” according to the FHWA. The agency added that there are projects underway for more than 24,800 federally-funded electric vehicle chargers.
Explaining the the NEVI and CFI programs’ goals
The NEVI Program provides funding to states to “strategically deploy EV charging infrastructure and establish an interconnected network to facilitate data collection, access, and reliability,” the FHWA explains.
Those funds, which are determined using a formula, are distributed to states annually from 2022 to 2026. According to the Department of Energy, 10% of NEVI funding is set aside each year for grants to states and localities that need extra help to deploy electric vehicle charging stations.
The CFI Program is a competitive grant program that also funds electric vehicle charging as well as other alternative fueling infrastructure, with a focus on “underserved and disadvantaged communities,” the FHWA says.
The programs are aimed at helping to accomplish the Biden administration’s goal of building a national network of 500,000 electric vehicle chargers by 2030.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.