Rep. Andy Levin Drives Towards Green New Deal with Electric Vehicle Bill
Rep. Levin’s “EV Freedom Act” aims to put electric vehicle chargers on every interstate.
The United States will have to significantly grow its infrastructure for electric vehicles to keep up with the electrification goals touted by major automakers.
U.S. Rep. Andy Levin (MI-9) is introducing legislation to create a system of electric vehicle charging stations across the country.
We have to do it “in a way that puts the interests of the most affected workers at the center of things.” – Rep. Andy Levin
It’s called the “EV Freedom Act.” Levin co-sponsored the bill with Green New Deal author Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and sees it as a building block towards a more sustainable economy.
“We have to do all these specific things under the umbrella of the big idea of the Green New Deal,” Levin says. “Doing it in a way that puts the interests of the most affected workers at the center of things and the most vulnerable communities.”
If enacted, the EV Freedom Act would require the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to create a network of high-speed electric vehicle charging infrastructure along interstates and the nation’s highway systems. “This would create so many jobs,” Levin says. “It’s covered by prevailing wage laws, so these are union scale jobs for the electricians who have to install all these high-speed chargers.”
