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The Electric Vehicle Freedom Act could put billions into a nationwide EV charging network

The legislation is being proposed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Andy Levin.

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Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Andy Levin are looking to jumpstart a massive national EV charging network.

Samuel Corum/Getty Images

The Biden administration has made no secret that it is interested in pushing US transportation to an electric future, promising to spend vast sums of money on bringing electric vehicles into the US Government fleet as well as increasing the national EV charging infrastructure. It's a big deal.

But maybe it's not big enough -- especially if you're Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Andy Levin, D-Mich. The two members of Congress are pushing a new piece of legislation called the Electric Vehicle Freedom Act, and it goes even farther than President Biden's promises, according to a report published Wednesday by Automotive News.

The Electric Vehicle Freedom Act seeks to build hundreds of thousands of electric-vehicle-charging stations around the US within five years and also seeks to shift government funding and tax breaks away from internal combustion vehicles and toward EVs. This would take billions beyond the $15 billion that President Biden has already earmarked.

The push toward electric vehicles is also getting a substantial push from states like California, which seeks to ban the sale of new internal combustion vehicles by 2035, and from 11 other states, including Massachusetts, New Jersey and Washington, that have signed on to California's program.

Given how much America's electric charging infrastructure has grown in recent years, and how much growing there is left to do, the Electric Vehicle Freedom Act could make for exciting times for EV enthusiasts in years to come if it's able to survive its trip through the halls of Congress.

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Kyle Hyatt Former news and features editor
Kyle Hyatt (he/him/his) hails originally from the Pacific Northwest, but has long called Los Angeles home. He's had a lifelong obsession with cars and motorcycles (both old and new).
Kyle Hyatt
Kyle Hyatt (he/him/his) hails originally from the Pacific Northwest, but has long called Los Angeles home. He's had a lifelong obsession with cars and motorcycles (both old and new).

Article updated on May 6, 2021 at 3:29 PM PDT

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Kyle Hyatt Former news and features editor
Kyle Hyatt (he/him/his) hails originally from the Pacific Northwest, but has long called Los Angeles home. He's had a lifelong obsession with cars and motorcycles (both old and new).
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