In the 2021 Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act, the federal government appropriated more than seven billion dollars in building a national network of EV charging stations. According to a recent Joint Office of Energy and Transportation report, 17 stations have been built so far. The bill also allocated billions of taxpayer dollars to expand rural broadband.

These are just some of the programs in the bill that critics say made broad promises but have yet to deliver. In a recent letter addressed to Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, co-chairs of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) argued that significant federal waste could be reduced by eliminating programs like charging stations for EVs and expanding broadband access funded with funds appropriated in HR 3684. 

“Three years later, just 17 EV stations are completed and not a single person—not one—has been connected to the internet yet. It’s time to pull the plug,” the letter read.

EV Charging Stations

This bill invested $7.5 billion in building a national network of 500,000 EV chargers, promising to reduce emissions, improve air quality, and create jobs. It is part of a “green agenda,” promoted by the Biden administration nationally, and the Cooper administration in North Carolina.

Gray Electric Car Parked on a Charging Bay. (Source: Pexels)

In 2022, Gov. Roy Cooper issued Executive Order 246, which established a goal of increasing the state’s Zero Emissions Vehicles (ZEVs) to 1.25 million by 2030. ZEVs include electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs).  

If the goal is met, ZEVs will account for 14% of North Carolina’s vehicular fleet by 2030, according to Lighting the Path, a recent report from the John Locke Foundation. 

Broadband Infrastructure

HR 3684 also appropriated $42.5 billion for states to expand their broadband infrastructure to more than 30 million Americans living in rural communities without access to high-speed, reliable internet. 

 “Three years later, ground hasn’t been broken on a single project,” The Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote in an October column. “The Administration recently said construction won’t start until next year at the earliest, meaning many projects won’t be up and running until the end of the decade.”

Through our Waste Watch series, Carolina Journal shines a spotlight on wasteful government spending at both the state and federal levels, exposing projects that squander taxpayer dollars.