Congress quietly defunds EV charging, redirects billions to highway repair

What it does

This bill redirects unspent federal electric vehicle charging infrastructure funds—originally allocated under the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—toward traditional highway repair, bridge maintenance, and wildlife crossing projects instead. States would receive these redirected funds proportionally based on their existing highway apportionment, and the bill prevents the money from being used for EV charging infrastructure going forward.

Why we flagged it

The bill's stated purpose is 'flexibility,' but its actual mechanism is to strip EV charging funds and redirect them to traditional highway projects. This is a functional defunding of climate-aligned infrastructure, not a neutral reallocation.

What the text implies

• Unobligated EV charging funds (money not yet spent) are permanently redirected; states cannot reclaim them for their original EV infrastructure purpose, effectively canceling the federal EV charging commitment.
• The bill uses 'notwithstanding' clauses to override the original Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act's EV charging mandate, suggesting deliberate circumvention of prior legislative intent.
• Traditional highway spending (resurfacing, bridge repair) benefits construction and trucking sectors; the redirection may favor companies like ODFL (Old Dominion Freight Line) and heavy equipment manufacturers over EV charging networks.
• States lose discretion: funds are distributed by formula (based on existing highway apportionment), not by EV infrastructure need, potentially leaving rural and underserved areas without charging access.
• The bill's title ('Flexibility') obscures its true function: it removes flexibility by locking funds into traditional highway use and preventing their use for EV infrastructure.

Who it affects

Ordinary citizens lose access to federally funded EV charging infrastructure that was explicitly promised under the 2021 infrastructure law. The redirection prioritizes traditional highway spending over climate and transportation modernization goals, effectively defunding a public benefit (EV infrastructure expansion) that would reduce consumer charging costs and support the transition away from fossil fuels.

Who stands to gain

• highway construction contractors
• trucking and freight companies (ODFL, similar carriers)
• heavy equipment manufacturers
• bridge repair and maintenance firms

Named in the bill

Department of Transportation (DOT), National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Federal Highway Administration, States (highway apportionment recipients), Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL), Joint Office (EV charging coordination body)

Where it stands

• Mar 13, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Mar 13, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

3 lobbying clients named this bill on 4 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $1,379,417 in lobbying spend. A filing names 50 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 61% of bills with at least one filing.

Cynthia Lummis, the sponsor, reported $550,692 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• American Trucking Associations — $720,000 on 1 filing
• American Society of Civil Engineers — $489,417 on 2 filings
• Samsung Sdi America, Inc. — $170,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.