A US House of Representatives committee said on Wednesday it would hold an April 5 hearing on US Postal Service (USPS) plans to purchase electric vehicles (EVs), during which lawmakers are expected to push for purchases of many more zero-emission delivery trucks.
Last week, USPS said it had placed an initial $2.98 billion order for 50,000 next-generation delivery vehicles from Oshkosh.
It said at least 10,019 of those would be EVs, double its initial planned purchase, but some lawmakers feel that is not enough.
Oversight committee chair Carolyn Maloney said USPS “should be leading the way, not falling behind private companies that are already moving ahead to save money and curb climate change by electrifying their fleets”.
Previously, postmaster-general Louis DeJoy had committed to buying at least 10% EVs as part of a multibillion-dollar plan to retire 30-year-old delivery vehicles.
The hearing will include USPS inspector-general Tammy Whitcomb and Victoria Stephen, executive director of the USPS Next Generation Delivery Vehicle programme.
Congress has considered awarding USPS $5.9 billion to boost EV purchases and charging infrastructure.
- Reuters with additional editing by Jim Pollard
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