Merkley, Colleagues Launch Effort to Increase Charging Stations at Highway Rest Areas

Washington, D.C. - Today, Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley-along with Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Ron Wyden (D-OR)-introduced the Recharge your Electric Car on the Highway to Alleviate Range Gaps Effectively (RECHARGE) Act.

Currently, locations for electrical vehicle (EV) charging stations along interstate highways are limited by federal law that constrains commercial activity at federal highway rest areas. The RECHARGE Act explicitly enables electric vehicle charging at rest areas, facilitating the expansion of electric vehicle charging infrastructure on federal highways and lowering range anxiety as the public transitions to more electric vehicles.

"Electric vehicles save households money while helping drive America toward a renewable energy future with cleaner air and healthier communities," said Merkley. "However, there is much more that needs to be done to accelerate this transition, particularly when it comes to the deployment of EV charging infrastructure. The RECHARGE Act is a simple way Congress can act to ensure America remains at the epicenter of the EV revolution."

Transitioning to electric vehicles is essential to cutting climate chaos-causing carbon pollution, while supporting good-paying jobs. Over the last several years, Congress has passed historic legislation to accelerate the transition to clean vehicles, including electric vehicle incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act, historic investments in electric vehicle charging infrastructure through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and supercharging domestic chip manufacturing capabilities through the CHIPS and Science Act.

"Robust and reliable charging infrastructure is key to our electric vehicle transition. Allowing chargers at our federal highway rest areas is a simple yet powerful way to further develop that infrastructure - which in turn will help get more EVs on our roads, cut carbon emissions, and improve the quality of the air we breathe," said Van Hollen.

"Oregonians have adopted electric vehicles much faster than folks from other states, and those EV owners should be able to refuel just as conveniently as everyone else on the road," said Wyden. "Building charging stations at highway rest areas will be one of the quickest and easiest ways to electrify major transportation routes, slash our emissions, and improve everyone's air quality."

The RECHARGE Act has been endorsed by EVgo and Sierra Club.

"Transportation remains the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, and it is critical that we make the transition to electric vehicles to meet our climate goals. Scaling charger deployment is essential to enabling ubiquitous EV adoption and EVgo commends Senator Merkley's efforts to ensure public charging infrastructure is available for all Oregonians," said Alex Beaton, Director for Market Development & Public Policy at EVgo.

"The Sierra Club is proud to endorse the RECHARGE Act. Addressing range anxiety by providing EV charging at rest areas along highway corridors will help advance the transition to clean vehicles," said Katherine García, Sierra Club's Clean Transportation for All Director. "Expanding the network of EV chargers in the U.S. is essential to ensuring clean air and healthy communities."

Full bill text of the RECHARGE Act can be found by clicking here.

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