USPS claps back on EVS

Source: BY MATTHEW CHOI, Politico • Posted: Monday, February 7, 2022

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy over the weekend fired back at the White House and EPA over their criticisms last week about the Postal Service’s plans to purchase mostly gasoline-powered vehicles instead of battery electric. Democrats in the Senate have also been pressuring the Trump-era appointee to correct the Postal Service’s “flawed” plan. DeJoy argued in a press release that he is limited by USPS’s “dire financial condition” and said comparisons to private-sector competitors ramping up EV deployment “are not relevant in view of our perilous financial condition and universal service mission.”

If Democrats want more EVs, DeJoy made it clear there’s only one way to get them: “Congress is well aware of the additional resources that would be required if Congress would prefer the Postal Service to accelerate the electrification of our delivery vehicle fleet as a matter of public policy.” The Build Back Better Act that passed the House in November, H.R. 5376, contained $6 billion for USPS electrification , including almost $2.6 billion for EV purchases and $3.4 billion for charging infrastructure. USPS previously said that funding would allow it to buy all-electric by 2028. But of course, that bill’s future in the Senate is hazy.

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