Overview
- Lawmakers are considering a bipartisan House draft, the BUILD America 250 Act, that would charge electric vehicles $135 a year and plug‑in hybrids $35 starting in October 2026, with scheduled increases to $150 and $50 by 2031.
- Fees would be paid during vehicle registration, avoiding vehicle‑miles‑traveled systems that require logging how far people drive and raise privacy concerns.
- Backers cite a widening funding gap as the federal gas tax, unchanged since 1993, raises about $40 billion a year while typical federal transportation spending is about $60 billion.
- Committee Chairman Sam Graves said the fee makes EV owners pay a fair share, while top Democrat Rick Larsen framed the draft as a compromise, and the package must move before the current highway law expires in September.
- EV advocates argue the charge adds undue costs, pointing to estimates that gas drivers pay about $73 to $89 a year in federal gas tax and noting that EV owners’ fuel and maintenance savings would shrink.