Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) criticized the Biden administration on Wednesday for not deploying electric vehicle (EV) chargers quickly enough.
“Dozens” but fewer than 100 electric vehicle charging points funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act have been deployed, federal highway administrator Shailen Bhatt told Merkley during a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing.
“That’s just pathetic,” Merkley responded, noting that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act of 2021 was supposed to further President Biden’s goal of reaching 500,000 chargers by the end of the decade.
He added that not a single federally funded charger has been deployed in his home state of Oregon.
“I share your frustration with the speed of the rollout,” Bhatt responded. He noted there were challenges in working with states to deploy the chargers. He added that thousands of chargers are expected to come online this year.
The lack of charging infrastructure is seen as a major obstacle to greater adoption of electric vehicles, as consumers may not want to wait in long lines and may fear running out of power on a long trip.
The Biden administration and many Democrats have widely advocated the adoption of electric vehicles as a key tool in the fight against climate change.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
