The Biden-championed Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 appropriated $3 billion for “zero-emission delivery vehicles” through September 2031, partially funding a projected $9.6 billion investment in electric vehicles by the U.S. Postal Service. One of the contracts the Postal Service signed for this project is worth at least $2.98 billion and is with Oshkosh Corp., a company that had reportedly delivered only 93 of the expected 3,000 vehicles as of November 2024.
The Postal Service’s contract with Oshkosh was announced before the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, meaning the agency had already committed to spending the money before $3 billion earmarked for zero-emission vehicles was appropriated. Moreover, most of the vehicles the Postal Service had acquired through the Oshkosh contract to date were gas-powered, not electric.