Statement: House committee approves critical funding to electrify U.S. Postal Service

With $7 billion in funding, the USPS may be able to electrify nearly its entire fleet

Environment America

WASHINGTON — The House Committee on Oversight and Reform approved on Thursday $7 billion to electrify the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) vehicle fleets, as proposed by Rep. Stephen Lynch. Additionally, the committee approved funding to electrify other government vehicles.

The USPS has the largest federal agency fleet, but its vehicles are aging and inefficient, many over 30 years old. In February, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said that current funding would only allow USPS to electrify 10% of its fleet. New funding is critical to move USPS closer toward full fleet electrification and fulfill President Biden’s goal of electrifying all federal government vehicles. The legislation must now be approved by the full U.S. House of Representatives as part of the budget reconciliation process.

For years, Environment America has advocated for USPS to electrify its fleet to cut greenhouse gas emissions and reduce exposure to toxic diesel pollution.

In response, Eve Lukens-Day, Environment America Global Warming Solutions associate, issued the following statement:

“Transportation is the number one source of climate emissions in the United States. We must move swiftly to electrify all its transportation to stop the most catastrophic impacts of global warming. A perfect place to start, electrifying the USPS fleet would eliminate the equivalent of 370,000 fossil fuel-powered cars from the road each year.” said Lukens-Day.

“There is no denying that the climate crisis is happening now: This week alone, Hurricane Ida caused over 1 million people to lose power in Louisiana and record flooding across the Northeast. At the same time, California Caldor Fire threatened the entire town of South Lake Tahoe, forcing tens of thousands to flee the rapidly advancing flames. A warming climate will only lead to more extreme weather, and so we must do everything in our power to prevent the worst impacts of climate change. I’m thankful for Representative Stephen Lynch’s leadership to ensure that all new USPS vehicles are electric.”