Why It Matters

Staff cuts and legislative proposals have disrupted a coordinated national build-out of EV charging infrastructure according to a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report released in June. The report delved into the implementation of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program and the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) grant program, documenting staffing cuts, and legislative proposals

The stakes for Congress are immediate: the 119th Congress is considering multiple bills that would transfer, rescind, or terminate NEVI and CFI entirely, while the administration's fiscal 2027 budget request proposed canceling $4.2 billion in remaining unobligated funds from both programs. State of California et al. v. U.S. DOT challenged the CFI pause and was ongoing as of the report date, and State of Illinois et al. v. Russell Vought et al. challenged OMB-directed CFI grant cancellations and was ongoing as of the report date. Test

The Big Picture

NEVI is a formula-based program administered by the Federal Highway Administration with a $5 billion allocation, distributing funds to states primarily for charging infrastructure along Alternative Fuel Corridors on the national highway system using an 80 percent federal and 20 percent state cost share. CFI is a competitive discretionary grant program with a $2.5 billion allocation divided evenly between corridor-based and community-based deployments, with priority given to rural, low-income, and underserved communities.

On the ground, an estimated 183 NEVI charging stations had opened across 20 states, with Pennsylvania leading at 36 stations and Ohio at 21, while 147 CFI projects across 44 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico received awards, though the total number of operational CFI-funded stations remained unclear. The administration's policy reversals began swiftly: Executive Order 14154, issued on January 20, 2025, directed an immediate pause on Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act grant disbursements, specifically naming NEVI and CFI.

The Federal Highway Administration rescinded its 2024 NEVI program guidance in February 2025 and suspended approval of state deployment plans, though revised guidance issued in August 2025 lifted the NEVI pause while CFI remained paused as of the report date in June 2026. Additional pressure came through appropriations: the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 transferred $503.8 million in unobligated NEVI formula funds, $300 million from NEVI's 10 percent set-aside, and $75 million in Joint Office of Energy and Transportation funds to other highway programs, while the report notes that staffing reductions at the Department of Transportation, Department of Energy, and the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation impair program administration.

The Bottom Line

The report also flags a potential compliance obstacle: proposed 100 percent domestic-content requirements for EV-charging equipment announced in February 2026 could not be met by any currently known equipment, raising questions about whether such standards would effectively block future deployments.

H.R. 1052, H.R. 1513, S. 651, H.R. 3972, and S. 1066 would transfer or rescind program funding and terminate NEVI and CFI, while H.R. 7977 would restore transferred or canceled program funds and H.R. 6615 would establish new grant programs for charging infrastructure.

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