Overview
- The BUILD America 250 Act, unveiled Sunday by House Transportation leaders Sam Graves and Rick Larsen, would set a $130 annual federal registration fee for electric cars and $35 for plug‑in hybrids with Federal Highway Administration authority to raise those amounts by $5 every two years starting in 2029, capped at $150 and $50.
- States would collect the fee at registration and pass funds to Washington, a system aimed at shoring up the Highway Trust Fund after three decades without a federal gas‑tax increase.
- Analysts estimate the first year could raise roughly $700 million to $780 million from the current EV fleet, a small share of multi‑billion‑dollar federal highway spending levels.
- The bill would also end or scale back key clean‑transport programs, including federal EV‑charging funds under NEVI and Charging and Fuelling Infrastructure grants, and repeal the Carbon Reduction and PROTECT programs, drawing opposition from groups like the Sierra Club and NRDC that warn the fee and cuts could slow EV adoption.
- Politics around the fee are split, with bipartisan House sponsors backing a user‑pays approach while Senate Democrats such as Sheldon Whitehouse and Ron Wyden voice firm opposition, and with many EV owners already paying state surcharges that can reach $267 in Michigan and $270 in New Jersey, the proposed federal layer could notably raise annual costs for drivers.