Rep. Huffman Lauds USPS Announcement to Transition Postal Fleet to Electric Vehicles

December 20, 2022

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) released the following statement after the United States Postal Service (USPS) announced a historic $9.6 billion investment over the next five years to electrify its delivery fleet. The USPS investment includes electrifying 75% of its new purpose-built Next Generation Delivery Vehicles (NGDV) and a commitment to acquire 100% electric NGDVs starting in 2026. This $9.6 billion investment – which includes $3 billion in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act – installs modern charging infrastructure at hundreds of USPS facilities, electrifies 66,000 delivery vehicles, and modernizes mail delivery by creating a smarter network to more efficiently reach its 163 million delivery locations across the country and further strengthen the sustainability of this critical public service. 

“This breakthrough agreement is fantastic news for the future of the USPS, our economy, and the planet. For nearly a decade, I’ve led the charge in Congress for this commonsense transition and now – thanks to the hard work of the Biden administration and the funding we provided in the Inflation Reduction Act, it’s finally happening,” said Rep. Huffman. “Moving the world’s largest civilian vehicle fleet to clean, reliable, cost-effective EV’s is a game changer.  It will help revitalize our beleaguered Postal Service, save taxpayers billions of dollars in fuel and maintenance costs, and supercharge America's transition to zero-emission vehicles. I’m incredibly grateful to the many leaders who worked to make this happen – including CEQ Chair Brenda Mallory and Representative Caroline Maloney, who were tireless allies in making this happen.” 

Rep. Huffman has been a leader on electrifying the USPS Postal Fleet since his first term in Congress. He has advocated to include funding for USPS vehicle electrification in yearly appropriations bills since 2014. Additionally, he has introduced legislation to provide the funding needed to transition to electric vehicles, such as the FLEET Act, first introduced in 2014, as well as the more recently introduced Postal Vehicle Modernization Act of 2021. This legislation would require at least 75% of the new USPS fleet electric or zero emission and provides $6 billion to enable the Postal Service to reach that 75% electric vehicle target. Budgetary provisions from that bill were included in the reconciliation package that passed out of the House last fall.  

Following the announcement of the USPS’ NGDV contract with Oshkosh in 2021, Rep. Huffman has taken several actions to push for investigation into the contract and increase the number of electric vehicles: 

  • Huffman joined Representative Marcy Kaptur in a House Resolution calling on the Biden administration to halt the contract until an investigation can be conducted. He also led a letter to the USPS Board of Governors requesting they halt the contract until the three vacancies on the Board of Governors are filled.  
  • This February, Rep. Huffman joined with Congressional colleagues in a bicameral letter calling on the USPS to change the procurement plan to dramatically increase the electrification of the mail delivery fleet.  
  • In March he sent a letter with members of the House Oversight Committee to the U.S. Postal Service Inspector General Tammy Whitcomb requesting that the IG initiate an investigation into the Postal Service’s compliance with NEPA when issuing the contract for NGDV.  
  • In April, he joined the House Committee on Oversight and Reform in a hearing to examine the errors and discrepancies at the heat of the USPS’s decision to purchase mostly gas-powered vehicles as part of the contract.