A newly proposed house bill from Rep. Jared Huffman of California would provide the United States Postal Service with $6 billion to replace more of its aging vehicle fleet with updated electric vehicles.
The Postal Vehicle Modernization Act, which Huffman proposed, a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, would provide the USPS with $6 billion as the postal service begins to phase out old vehicles in favor of new, sustainable electric ones. The change was initially influenced by President Joe Biden, who encouraged all federal agencies to move toward “clean and zero-emission vehicles.” Biden’s plan would be to move all vehicles in the government fleet to electrified models, and the Postal Service undoubtedly fits the description.
“By electrifying the Postal Service fleet, we have an opportunity to boost our economy, slash emissions, and save the crumbling Postal Service. The benefits and need for action could not be clearer – President Biden himself has called for complete federal vehicle electrification,” Huffman said in a press release introducing the bill. “By investing in modern, efficient vehicles, we can transform the USPS into a global leader in efficiency and innovation, helping revitalize the beleaguered Postal Service and saving taxpayers billions of dollars each year. With this funding, there is no valid reason not to move forward with completely electrifying the USPS vehicle fleet.”
The bill, if passed, would require the USPS to guarantee that at least 75% of its new fleet will be composed of either fully-electric or zero-emission vehicles. By 2029, at least half of its medium and heavy-duty vehicles would also have to be fully-electric or zero-emission. Even further down the road, 2040 would be the deadline where the USPS would be prohibited from purchasing any medium or heavy-duty vehicles that are not electric.
The bill is co-sponsored by 18 other House Democrats and would also receive support to purchase more EV charging infrastructure.
The U.S. government has a fleet of roughly 650,000 cars, which Biden vowed to replace with electric vehicles in January.
Huffman’s Postal Vehicle Modernization Act is available below.
117_Postal Vehicle Modernization Act_TEXT by Joey Klender on Scribd
