Latest news with #FHWA
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
DOT streamlining $5.4B for bridge projects
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Monday announced $5.4 billion available for major bridge projects in a funding program that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says will be relieved of Biden-era approval requirements. The new funding opportunity, administered by the Federal Highway Administration, includes $4.9 billion for major bridge projects through FHWA's Bridge Investment Program and up to $500 million to repair or replace bridges in rural areas through the agency's Competitive Highway Bridge Program. The money will help improve approximately 42,000 bridges across the country 'that are in dire need of repair,' according to the administration. 'The previous administration handcuffed critical infrastructure funding requirements to woke DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] and Green New Scam initiatives that diverted resources from the Department's core mission,' Duffy said in a press release announcing the funding. 'Under the Trump Administration, America is building again.'Applicants – which include state and local governments and metropolitan planning organizations – will no longer have to explain how a project will consider climate change and environmental justice in the planning stage and in project delivery. Under the Biden administration, applicants had to show, for example, how the project would reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector and the extent to which the project avoided adverse environmental impacts to air or water quality and to endangered species. They were also expected to address negative impacts on disadvantaged communities. In addition, under the previous administration's DEI and workforce requirements, applicants had to include an equity assessment evaluating whether a project 'would create proportional impacts and remove transportation related disparities to all populations in a project area,' the U.S. Department of Transportation noted. Applications for the Bridge Investment Program must be submitted by Aug. eligible for the $500 million in rural bridge grants under the Competitive Highway Bridge Program include the state departments of transportation for Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Applications for that program must be submitted by Aug. 4. Biden: US will pay to rebuild Francis Scott Key Bridge Top 10 states that won Biden's bridge-fixing windfall US DOT awards $225 million for rural bridges Click for more FreightWaves articles by John Gallagher. The post DOT streamlining $5.4B for bridge projects appeared first on FreightWaves.
Epoch Times
08-05-2025
- Automotive
- Epoch Times
States Sue Trump Admin Over Termination of EV Charging Station Funding
The Trump administration is being sued by a coalition of 16 states and the District of Columbia over claims it is withholding billions of dollars in funding approved by Congress to build electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, according to a federal lawsuit announced on April 7. The It centers on the $5 billion in funding allocated under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program in 2022 to facilitate electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the states. That funding was established through the Biden administration's Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, amid a push towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and making at least Congress required the $5 billion funding to be distributed among the states over fiscal years 2022 through 2026. So far, an estimated $3.3 billion had already been made available, according to the lawsuit. Related Stories 4/30/2025 5/6/2025 Shortly after taking office in January, President Donald Trump issued an The order stated that America is 'blessed with an abundance of energy and natural resources that have historically powered our Nation's economic prosperity,' but that, in recent years, 'burdensome and ideologically motivated regulations' have impeded the development of those resources, while also limiting the generation of reliable and affordable electricity, reducing job creation, and increasing energy costs. Following Trump's directive, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), an agency under the Department of Transportation (DOT), The lawsuit challenges the FHWA's authority to terminate the funding and claims its actions deprive the states of billions of dollars in appropriated funds and violate the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the Separation of Powers Doctrine, and the Take Care Clause, among others. 'This infrastructure is critical to the success of plaintiff states' environmental, public health, and transportation programs—projects Congress actively chose to support in enacting the [Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act] and establishing the NEVI Formula Program. The harms to plaintiff states will continue and become increasingly damaging if unabated,' the states wrote in the suit. The lawsuit asks the court to declare Trump's directives unlawful, to vacate the administration's actions, and permanently stop it from withholding the funds. Department of Transportation and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Federal Highway Administration Administrator Gloria Shepherd are listed as defendants. In a 'President Trump's illegal action withholding funds for electric vehicle infrastructure is yet another Trump gift to China—ceding American innovation and killing thousands of jobs,' they said. 'Instead of hawking Teslas on the White House lawn, President Trump could actually help Elon—and the nation—by following the law and releasing this bipartisan funding.' The attorneys general of Arizona, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and Vermont joined the lawsuit. The Epoch Times has contacted the Department of Transportation and Tesla for comment.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
States Sue the Government Over Withdrawn EV Charging Station Funds
A group of 17 states led by California, Colorado and Washington are suing the government over billions of dollars in funds for EV charging stations. A lawsuit filed in a Seattle district court cites a 2021 bipartisan $5 billion infrastructure program that was meant to build out charging stations across the US. As recently as early February, that money was expected to continue to roll out to states to add stations. Since then, however, some funds for the program were paused and experts have said that shutting down government-funded EV stations could have its own costs that run to $1 billion. The suit says the Federal Highway Administration, under orders from the presidential administration, is holding back billions that were allocated by Congress. "In total, as of February 6, 2025, the FHWA made $3.27 billion available for obligation for fiscal years 2022 through 2025, including approximately $1.1 billion made available for obligation to Plaintiff States," it says. "In total, the FHWA is withholding approximately $2.74 billion of the $3.27 million in NEVI Formula Program funds available to the States for obligation for fiscal years 2022 through 2025. Collectively, Plaintiff States have been immediately and indefinitely deprived of access to approximately $1 billion in available NEVI Formula Program funds for those four fiscal years." Representatives for the White House and the FHWA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The move to electric vehicles has been steady as more manufacturers have released improved models with better range and features over the years. More than 300,000 EVs were sold in the US from January to March. Charging stations, which allow EV drivers more mobility over long distances, are a key part of the transition. And the switch to EVs has been cited as a major driver of combating climate change globally. Since becoming president in January, Trump has attempted to halt progress on many Biden-era climate-forward initiatives. As with the EV chargers lawsuit, states and cities are stepping in to take action on climate due to a lack of national leadership on the issue.
CNET
08-05-2025
- Automotive
- CNET
States Sue the Government Over Withdrawn EV Charging Station Funds
Table of Contents States Sue the Government Over Withdrawn EV Charging Station Funds A group of 17 states led by California, Colorado and Washington are suing the government over billions of dollars in funds for EV charging stations. A lawsuit filed in a Seattle district court cites a 2021 bipartisan $5 billion infrastructure program that was meant to build out charging stations across the US. As recently as early February, that money was expected to continue to roll out to states to add stations. Since then, however, some funds for the program were paused and experts have said that shutting down government-funded EV stations could have its own costs that run to $1 billion. The suit says the Federal Highway Administration, under orders from the presidential administration, is holding back billions that were allocated by Congress. "In total, as of February 6, 2025, the FHWA made $3.27 billion available for obligation for fiscal years 2022 through 2025, including approximately $1.1 billion made available for obligation to Plaintiff States," it says. "In total, the FHWA is withholding approximately $2.74 billion of the $3.27 million in NEVI Formula Program funds available to the States for obligation for fiscal years 2022 through 2025. Collectively, Plaintiff States have been immediately and indefinitely deprived of access to approximately $1 billion in available NEVI Formula Program funds for those four fiscal years." Representatives for the White House and the FHWA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The move to electric vehicles has been steady as more manufacturers have released improved models with better range and features over the years. More than 300,000 EVs were sold in the US from January to March. Charging stations, which allow EV drivers more mobility over long distances, are a key part of the transition. And the switch to EVs has been cited as a major driver of combating climate change globally. Since becoming president in January, Trump has attempted to halt progress on many Biden-era climate-forward initiatives. As with the EV chargers lawsuit, states and cities are stepping in to take action on climate due to a lack of national leadership on the issue.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
16 states and DC are suing the Trump administration over blocking funding for EV chargers
Sixteen states and D.C. are suing the Trump administration over blocking EV charger funding. The lawsuit targets the Department of Transport for halting the $5 billion NEVI program. Tesla was a major funding recipient, receiving $31 million from the initiative. A coalition of 16 states and Washington, D.C., filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Trump administration for suspending a $5 billion electric vehicle charging initiative. The suit targets the Department of Transportation, Transport Secretary Sean Duffy, the Federal Highway Administration, and its Acting Administrator Gloria M. Shepherd, over the abrupt halt of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula program. NEVI was established under the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and was a central component of the Biden administration's push for a national EV charging network. Tesla was one of its top recipients, receiving $31 million to expand its Supercharger network in partnership with public initiatives. However, an executive order issued by President Donald Trump on his first day back in office directed federal agencies to freeze funds allocated by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The lawsuit, backed by states including California and Colorado, argues that the executive branch does not have the authority to withhold or redirect the funding, and that the FHWA unlawfully revoked funds that Congress had directed to states for building infrastructure. The plaintiffs said that the FHWA's action to immediately freeze more than $2.7 billion in NEVI funds disrupted projects already under contract or in planning, causing long-term financial and logistical harm. California Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized the move, calling it "another Trump gift to China." Newsom added that "instead of hawking Teslas on the White House lawn, President Trump could actually help Elon — and the nation — by following the law and releasing this bipartisan funding." Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said that the Department of Transportation was "breaking the law" by withholding funding. "Congress had the foresight to authorize funding to build this important infrastructure, and it must be restored immediately," he said. "I will not hesitate to take them to court to ensure they follow the law." Read the original article on Business Insider
