U.S. Agriculture Committee Hearing on EV Investments and Rural America

On Wednesday, the U.S. House Agriculture Committee held a hearing titled “Implications of Electric Vehicle Investments for Agriculture and Rural America.” During the hearing, panelists and Committee members warned that Rural America risks being “left behind” in the transition to electric vehicles (EVs). Democrats pushed industry representatives on ways to ensure widespread and equitable EV adoption. Republicans warned that EVs currently don’t meet rural Americans’ needs and that the transition to EVs will be challenged by China’s dominance of the minerals needed to manufacture EVs as well as the current capacity of the U.S. electric grid.  

As part of the recently passed Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, the Biden administration wants to deploy 500,000 chargers across the U.S. by 2030. Industry representatives suggested highways and convenience stores as good places to expand charging networks in rural areas. RCRC’s federal lobbyist partners, American Continental Group, provided coverage of this hearing.