The House Oversight and Reform Committee will meet on Thursday to vote to provide $5 billion to the General Services Administration to purchase the vehicles and an additional $2.4 billion the U.S. Postal Service. The spending would be part of a $3.5 trillion budget resolution Democrats plan to pass through the reconciliation process—meaning it will not require any Republican support in the Senate—to boost infrastructure and fulfill other parts of President Biden’s agenda.
“This funding would position the federal government as a leader in vehicle modernization and would represent a significant step towards a fully electric future for federal vehicles,” the committee said in announcing the upcoming vote.
President Biden previously promised to electrify the federal fleet, requesting $46 billion to purchase the vehicles, charging ports and electric heat pumps for buildings.
Half of the USPS funding would go toward purchasing electric vehicles and the other half would go toward boosting the support infrastructure for them. USPS would also see $10 million for “capital project investments” that would boost the mailing agency’s infrastructure. The money would help the Postal Service improve working conditions at its 31,000 facilities around the country, the committee said. As part of COVID-19 relief, Congress previously provided USPS with a $10 billion cash infusion that the agency quickly spent.