Basics
The Road Ahead: Should EV’s Contribute to the Highway Trust Fund?
Climate & Sustainability Energy & Utilities Infrastructure Workforce
Published on March 25, 2025
Explore This BasicThe Highway Trust Fund (HTF) is the primary source of federal funding for highway infrastructure projects, including constructing and maintaining U.S. roads, bridges, and public transit systems. The HTF receives most of its funding from federal taxes on motor fuel and faces two main challenges. First, fuel efficiency steadily increases as regulations steer the U.S. toward increasing energy independence. Second, as electric vehicles (EVs) gain market share, gas consumption in the U.S. is anticipated to decrease. EVs do not consume gasoline, and they are not subject to the federal excise taxes funding the HTF, limiting the federal aid available to states for infrastructure expenses. To address the HTF’s growing deficit and ensure its sustainability, policymakers are considering introducing a tax on EVs, requiring their contribution to the fund, especially as their use expands.
With a Republican-controlled Congress, legislation to tax EVs and bolster HTF funding is more viable. Speaker Mike Johnson and other GOP leaders support Trump’s efforts to end the “EV mandate,” framing incentives for their purchase as government overreach. Going forward, the HTF cannot rely on gas taxes alone. Whether through EV fees, VMT taxation, or alternative funding methods, Congress faces a pivotal decision: how to maintain America’s highway infrastructure without crippling the transition to EVs, a key part of the U.S.’s climate goals. The outcome of this debate will shape the future of U.S. transportation and climate policy.
Links to Other Resources:
- American Society of Civil Engineers: Policy Briefing: Bill would add electric vehicle fees to boost Highway Trust Fund | ASCE
- Associated General Contractors: ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND THE HIGHWAY TRUST FUND
- BBC: Biden administration unveils strictest ever US car emission limits to boost EVs
- Bipartisan Policy Center: The Future of the Highway Trust Fund: The Impact of EVs | Bipartisan Policy Center
- Congress.gov: Text – S.2882 – 118th Congress (2023-2024): Stop EV Freeloading Act
- EPA: Biden-Harris Administration finalizes strongest-ever pollution standards for cars that position U.S. companies and workers to lead the clean vehicle future, protect public health, address the climate crisis, save drivers money | US EPA
- Electrification Coalition: Electrification Coalition – Inflation Reduction Act Impacts on Electric Vehicles
- Federal Highway Administration: Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956: Creating The Interstate System (Sidebars) | FHWA
- Kelley Blue Book: How Much Are Electric Cars? – Kelley Blue Book
- NRDC: Electric vs. Gas Cars: Is It Cheaper to Drive an EV?
- Peter G. Peterson Foundation: It’s Been 28 Years Since We Last Raised the Gas Tax, and Its Purchasing Power Has Eroded
- Reuters: EV companies, battery makers urge Trump not to kill vehicle tax credits | Reuters
- Reuters: Trump revokes Biden 50% EV target, freezes unspent charging funds | Reuters
- Tax Foundation: Vehicle Miles Traveled Taxes Rollout across States
- The New York Times: Trump and Republicans Cannot Stop Electric Vehicles, Experts Say – The New York Times
- UNFCCC: the united states of america – nationally determined contribution
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Charging into the future: the transition to electric vehicles
- U.S. Senator Deb Fischer for Nebraska: Fischer Introduces “Stop EV Freeloading Act” to Support Infrastructure Investments, Promote Fairness – Press