Bipartisan lawmakers praise House passage of CHARGE Act that eases government use of electric cars

Democratic Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan and Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio hailed the House's approval of their bill that would instruct the General Services Administration to permit the use of vehicle charge cards to cover the cost of recharging electric vehicles at commercial charging locations.

For vehicles that the government owns and leases, agencies pay for inexpensive repairs and fuel fill-ups with Fleet Services Cards. While "electric vehicles are not covered in this service," according to a press release, the "Charging Helps Agencies Realize General Efficiencies Act" would permit paying for the cost of recharging with the cards. 

This move would help pave the way for the government to begin utilizing more electric vehicles, the press release notes. 

The House's approval means that the bipartisan bill will now go before President Trump.

“If federal employees are required to pay for gas with travel charge cards, they should also be allowed to ‘fill up’ at a charging station when operating an electric vehicle,” Portman said in a statement. “I'm pleased that the House passed this bipartisan, common-sense bill so that federal agencies can adopt more energy-efficient electric vehicles and I look forward to the president signing it into law soon.”

The press release also included a statement from Peters.

“I applaud the House for passing my commonsense, bipartisan legislation that will save taxpayer dollars in the long run by ensuring the federal government is ready to adopt more electric vehicles into its fleet,” Peters said. "Electric vehicles have the potential to be more energy efficient and more cost-effective than gasoline-powered vehicles. The President should sign this bill as soon as possible to ensure the federal government can take full advantage of electric vehicles that will save money for Michiganders and Americans across the country.”