Government
US DOT Freeze of EV Infrastructure Funding Is Illegal, Watchdog Says
Watchdog agency GAO found US Dept. of Transportation officials had wrongly considered funds obligated when deals were signed, rather than when tranches of funding set by Congress became available to the program—leading officials to violate the law.
Photo courtesy U.S. Government Accountability Office
The U.S. Dept. of Transportation broke the law when it suspended the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program, says a report the U.S. Government Accountability Office released on May 22. It says agency officials claim the program was not implemented well and that most of its funding has not been activated by states.
Congress created the EV funding program through the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to boost state efforts to deploy and maintain electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Lawmakers appropriated $5 billion for the program, with most of the money set to become available to states in tranches each year from 2022 through 2026, minus a percentage to cover operations and administration and $300 million set to fund a Joint Office of Energy and Transportation to provide technical assistance and develop training and certification programs.
In February, DOT issued a memo notifying states that it was canceling previous guidance for the program and suspending all plans that states submitted under the program. Additionally, DOT officials said no new spending obligations would be incurred under the program until they issued new guidance and approved new state plans, although adding hat money would continue to go out for existing project agreements.
However, that move violated the law covering government spending obligations as well as the Impoundment Control Act, GAO investigators found, because funds were actually obligated when made available to the program each year, rather than when project agreements are signed. DOT improperly impounded the funds, they wrote.
GAO investigators wrote that they “do not take a position on the policy goals of the program and this is not to be interpreted as taking a position on the underlying policies entailed. Changes to these policies and priorities can be addressed through the legislative process with Congress and the administration.”
A department spokesperson said in a statement that the GAO report “shows a complete misunderstanding of the law.” The report’s conclusion conflicts with Congress’ intent and how lawmakers structure the program, they said.
DOT is reviewing and updating the EV program guidance because implementation "has failed miserably, the spokesperson added. The agency "will continue to work in good faith to update the program so it can be utilized more efficiently and effectively." As of Feb. 6, the department reported it had signed agreements for just $526.6 million of the $3.3 billion available through the program.
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The GAO report comes as DOT is already facing a federal lawsuit from a coalition of states over the program’s freeze.
Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), ranking member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, said in a statement that DOT “must implement [the program] by releasing the funds to states, period.”
He added: “News flash for the Trump administration: you can’t simply ignore the law when you disagree with it."
