Heinrich Hosts Congressional Briefing Highlighting Advancements and Job Creation in the Electric Vehicle Supply Chain
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, hosted a congressional briefing on developments in manufacturing electric vehicles and their supply chains in the United States, from batteries to electric school buses.
Panelists from the Zero Emission Transportation Association Education Fund, Impact Clean Power Technology, SA, and GreenPower Motor Company shared their perspectives on the incredible growth in EV-related investments over recent years and business partnerships that are diversifying domestic supply chains away from foreign entities of concern, including from China, driven by the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act.
“For the last few years, the United States has taken industrial policy seriously. We need to do that because China and other competitors, for years and years, have been taking industrial policy seriously. If we want to control our own supply chains, we need pro-growth tax policies that support those things,” said Heinrich. “There is no question that globally, the electrification of transportation is a consistent phenomenon. The real question for us as a nation, I think, is, do we want to lead this transition? Do we want to compete with our global competitors and be successful, or are we going to cede that leadership to other spaces?”
“In my view, when you're winning, keep winning,” Heinrich continued. “Keep the things that are actually moving factories to the United States. What I've experienced in the just the few years since we created the Inflation Reduction Act is new manufacturing plants opening in the state of New Mexico and existing manufacturing plants expanding. The supply chains that everybody complained about, saying ‘we don't have control of those supply chains,’ let's build those supply chains here. We should be banding together with our allies to control our own supply chains and to build good jobs here and to compete effectively — not just to compete, but to win this race for the future of transportation and energy.”
Heinrich’s Longtime Leadership on Electric Vehicles
Heinrich is a staunch advocate for federal investments that make electric vehicles more affordable and accessible for working families as well as electric vehicle charging stations more available for New Mexicans.
In 2022, Heinrich helped author and pass into law the landmark Inflation Reduction Act, which has created a manufacturing renaissance throughout the country and established New Mexico at the center of the nation’s clean energy future. Heinrich marked the two-year anniversary of the legislation being signed into law in August, highlighting how its incentives have expanded and spurred a number of new clean energy projects across New Mexico.
Last August, at an event in Albuquerque, Heinrich was joined by Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) Superintendent Gabriella Duran-Blakey and Mom’s Clean Air Force – an organization dedicated to protecting children from air pollution and climate change – to announce nearly $7 million in Infrastructure Law funding to help APS replace older, diesel school buses with 20 new electric school buses. This investment comes from the EPA Clean School Bus Program, which Heinrich helped establish. The investment will help APS save money as they upgrade school bus fleets, replacing existing buses with brand new zero-emission and clean school buses.
Last year, Heinrich and the New Mexico Congressional Delegation also welcomed nearly $68 million in competitive federal grant funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program to build major new electric vehicle charging networks throughout New Mexico. The largest portion of that funding will allow the New Mexico Department of Transportation to contract with a private partner, TeraWatt Infrastructure, to build the I-10 Electric Corridor, which will be the nation’s first network of high-powered charging centers for heavy-duty electric trucks. As part of this network, TeraWatt will build two electric vehicle charging centers for medium-and heavy-duty commercial vehicles conducting routes along Interstate 10 (I-10), located in unincorporated Hidalgo and Doña Ana Counties, near Lordsburg and Vado, N.M. The entire route will extend along the I-10 highway from the San Pedro ports in Southern California to the El Paso, Texas border region.
Last year, Heinrich also welcomed guidance from the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that significantly expanded access to the 30C Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit. The 30C Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit was increased through the Inflation Reduction Act and provides billions of dollars for alternative refueling infrastructure investments such as in-home EV chargers, zero-emission truck stops, public chargers, and adding zero-emission refueling to warehouses.
Heinrich has also led successful efforts to call on the U.S. Postal Service to substantially increase their efforts to electrify the next generation of mail delivery vehicles. With funding that Democrats delivered in the historic Inflation Reduction Act and a commitment from the Biden administration, the next generation of mail delivery vehicles in America will now be 75% battery electric vehicles, and 100% electric starting in 2026.
###