Joseph Simonson of the Washington Free Beacon explains how one bad Biden administration policy is thwarting another bad Biden administration policy.
In 2021, the Biden administration pledged it would build 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations by 2030. So far, it’s built seven.
Last month, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg—who administers the funds apportioned for EV charger construction in the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Act—said Americans should not be surprised at the time it takes to stand up “a new category of federal investment.”
“It’s more than just plunking a small device into the ground,” Buttigieg said in an interview with CBS’s Face the Nation.
But internal memos from the Department of Transportation obtained by the Washington Free Beacon, as well as interviews with those who are responsible for overseeing the implementation of the electric vehicle charging station project, say the delay is in large part a result of the White House’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
“These requirements are screwing everything up,” said one senior Department of Transportation staffer who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “It’s all a mess.”
President Joe Biden has reportedly expressed frustration with the pace at which his much-touted infrastructure projects are getting built. A “close ally” of the White House told CNN last December that Biden “wants this stuff now,” and a White House spokesman added that the president “constantly pushes his team to ensure we are moving as quickly as possible.”
But Biden may only have himself to blame.
Shortly after taking office, the president signed an executive order mandating that the beneficiaries of 40 percent of all federal climate and environmental programs should come from “underserved communities.” The order also established the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, which monitors agencies such as the Department of Transportation to ensure the “voices, perspectives, and lived realities of communities with environmental justice concerns are heard in the White House and reflected in federal policies, investments, and decisions.”