Funding bill claws back some EV charging cash, seeks to shield FEMA from Trump

A funding bill released this week would claw back hundreds of millions of dollars passed to fund electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure passed under the Biden administration. The bill in question, released Tuesday, would fund the departments of Homeland Security, Defense, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Labor, Education and other related agencies. It seeks to claw back $879 million that passed as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021 as part of an effort to fund a nationwide EV charging network. The law originally included billions in funding for the network. An emerging point of contention in the new legislation, meanwhile, is more about what’s not in the bill, as opposed to what is. Some lawmakers, including Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) are pushing for the inclusion of a provision that would include sales of high-ethanol gasoline year-round. A spokesperson for Bacon confirmed Punchbowl’s reporting that he brought up sales of high-ethanol gas at a Republican conference meeting on Wednesday morning but is not planning to vote down the bill over the issue. “I’ve heard from our NE farmers and this is their #1 priority,” Bacon wrote in a post on the social platform X. Bipartisan lawmakers from the Midwest have pushed for sales of E15 gas, named for its 15 percent ethanol content, year-round. This type of gasoline has historically been restricted in the summer because of concerns about smog — which can form more easily from evaporation in the heat. Geoff Cooper, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, told The Hill in an email there is a “full-fledged push to get year-round E15 in the final package.” He said “several” Midwestern lawmakers are “drawing a line in the sand on this issue because it is vitally important to jobs and economic vitality in their districts and states.” He did not specify which lawmakers are doing so. “This should not be controversial — E15 is a more affordable, American-made, cleaner-burning fuel that boosts the farm economy,” Cooper said. Meanwhile, lawmakers are also seeking to rein in the administration’s cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). A joint explanatory statement accompanying the funding bill calls for restoring positions eliminated over the past year and retaining staffing levels needed for the agency to complete its statutory missions, including Cadre of On-Call Response/Recovery (CORE) staffers. The statement comes amid reports that the administration is considering eliminating half of its staff and that it is not renewing some CORE staffers’ positions. It also calls for FEMA to not be eliminated or reorganized. Joint explanatory statements explain congressional intent, but agencies are not legally bound to follow them, according to the Congressional Research Service.