By U.S. Senator Deb Fischer
**Click here to download audio of this week’s column**
As part of its relentless climate agenda, the Biden administration imposed rules and regulations that would force Americans to adopt electric vehicles (EVs) at a breakneck pace. Today, we’re left with more electric cars on the roads, and more problems we must address.
Our current transportation infrastructure was not designed for the challenges electric vehicles (EVs) pose. And EVs aren’t paying their fair share into the program that funds road and highway repairs. The Highway Trust Fund (HTF) supplies 90 percent of federal highway assistance, financing the vast majority of our nation’s highway system. The fund exists to repair exactly the type of damage heavy EVs inflict on our roads. In order to finance these repairs, the HTF receives funding through the federal gas tax: 18.3 cents per gallon for gas and 24.3 cents per gallon for diesel goes to the federal HTF.
The rise of fuel-efficient vehicles has decreased gas consumption across the country, reducing the amount of gas tax paid and the amount of revenue going into the HTF. Today, this critical fund faces insolvency—and that’s catastrophic news for our road and highway maintenance. The insolvency problem is made worse by the thousands of heavy EVs that aren’t paying into the HTF at all.
This week, I introduced the Fair Sharing of Highways and Roads for Electric Vehicles (SHARE) Act to address this problem. Because of the weight of the large batteries that power electric cars, they can be up to three times as heavy as gas-powered cars—the vehicles that our infrastructure was built to carry. The excessive weight of EVs pounds the roadbed, making more maintenance necessary more often, costing more money, time, and resources. But the fund that pays for this maintenance is running low.
As electric cars continue to flood our roads, causing an outsized amount of damage, they must begin paying their fair share to save the HTF from collapse. That’s where my bill comes in. The Fair SHARE Act will require EVs to invest in the HTF just like gas-powered vehicles do. It will implement a fee at the manufacturer level at the point of sale of each electric car that is equal to the amount paid by the average gas-powered car owner over a 10-year period. It will implement an additional fee on electric cars with batteries that weigh over 1,000 pounds to compensate for the additional damage we know these heavy cars cause to our roads.
It’s a simple issue of fairness. Far from discriminating against EV owners, my bill levels the playing field for the good of America’s infrastructure. It’s a commonsense solution to a road maintenance problem that has crept up on us for years. After decades of increased electric car usage, it’s time for these vehicles to pay their fair share.
Thank you for participating in the democratic process. I look forward to visiting with you again next week.