On Tuesday, April 5, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. ET, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, will hold a hearing to examine the benefits, opportunities, and challenges of electrifying the Postal Service fleet through the acquisition of the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV).
“It is critical for our environment and our future that the Postal Service rapidly transition to an electric fleet,” said Chairwoman Maloney. “The federal government should be leading the way, not falling behind private companies that are already moving ahead to save money and curb climate change by electrifying their fleets. I look forward to this critical hearing to examine how the Postal Service can acquire and deploy electric vehicles and the additional steps Congress can take to support the Postal Service’s transition to the fleet of the future.”
In February 2021, the Postal Service awarded Oshkosh Corporation a contract to build its NGDV, which requires Oshkosh to build up to 165,000 internal combustion engine or battery electric vehicles for the Postal Service over ten years. The Postal Service later announced it would purchase only 5,000 electric vehicles in its initial order.
On March 14, 2022, the Oversight Committee requested that the Postal Service Inspector General examine whether the Postal Service had met its environmental obligations in connection with this acquisition.
Ten days later, on March 24, 2022, the Postal Service announced its initial purchase order with Oshkosh for 50,000 NGDVs, of which at least 10,000 will be electric—twice the number of electric vehicles the Postal Service previously planned to purchase in its initial order.
The hearing will examine the significant domestic environmental and public health benefits, as well as valuable cost savings, of transitioning the Postal Service fleet to electric vehicles. Major private sector fleets are increasingly becoming electric because electric vehicles are more cost-effective in the long run due to lower maintenance and fuel costs.
Members will also hear from witnesses about additional steps the Postal Service can take to acquire electric vehicles.