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City mayors call for Congress to back electric vehicle bills

Investing in select areas for electric vehicle deployment before a widespread roll-out is the less risky approach, city mayors told Congress

City mayors from around the country have called on Congress to support legislation to help kickstart the widespread adoption of electrified vehicles.

Bills were introduced in the Senate and House at the end of May proposing $800 million to support new recharging infrastructure in five American cities (see this BrighterEnergy.org story).

The legislation also seeks to extend incentives for drivers and manufacturers of electric vehicles.

Leaders of Houston, Indianapolis, Portland and the Bay Area cities of San Jose, San Francisco and Oakland wrote to Congressional chiefs saying it is time for federal lawmakers to “step up to the plate” to support the legislation.

They said the American people outside the Washington Beltway were supporting the deployment of electric cars and trucks.

“Responsible”

Houston Mayor Annise D Parker said deploying vehicle recharging infrastructure in select areas of the US to begin the move to mass-adoption of electric vehicle technology was a “responsible” approach.

She told Senate leaders Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell: “I believe that this approach-incentives to deploy all of the elements of an electrified transportation system simultaneously in select geographic areas-represents a path forward that is fiscally responsible while still minimizing the risk of electric cars being relegated to a niche market for enthusiasts.”

The Bay Area mayors said they believed the proposed legislation would allow for a faster move toward electric vehicles, in the light of the billions of dollars currently used for imported oil every day.

“The unfolding crisis in the Gulf represents yet another signal of the danger of our dependence on oil,” the mayors said. “We power our cars and trucks with a fuel that pollutes our air and water, that has put our nation at the mercy of hostile nations in the Middle East, and whose price can spike at the slightest provocation.”

Competition

The city mayors stated their intentions to bid for the chance to be one of the five cities selected for the $800 million, but said many more cities across America would also bid. The competition, they said, would be healthy for the resulting program.

Republicans and Democrats in both the House and the Senate have so far backed the legislation introduced by Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) in the Senate, and House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming Chairman Ed Markey (D-MA), Rep. Judy Biggert (R-IL), Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), and Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-CA) in the House.