Washington (December 20, 2022) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety, released the following statement celebrating the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) announcement today that it will electrify its mail delivery fleet by 2026:
“If we want to spark a clean energy revolution across America, we have to start by swapping out the spark plugs in our federal fleets. Today’s announcement from USPS is a victory for all of us who have driven the effort to supercharge the electrification of our mail delivery vehicles so that we can save money and save the planet. Electrification of the Postal Service kicks our progress toward meeting our climate goals into high gear—reducing greenhouse gas emissions, keeping our communities healthy, and investing in American clean energy manufacturing. I will continue to fight for the electrification of the entire U.S. federal government fleet, as well as for the protection and rights of workers building these vehicles by ensuring they have the opportunity to collectively bargain.”
USPS will spend $9.6 billion – including $3 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act – to purchase 66,000 new electric vehicles and related infrastructure to develop one of the largest clean energy fleets in the United States.Senator Markey has repeatedly called for USPS to electrify its fleet. In November 2022, Senator Markey called for USPS to ramp up electrification of its mail delivery fleet; in February 2022, the Senator urged Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and Chairman of USPS Board of Governors Roman Martinez IV to abandon procuring gasoline-powered mail delivery vehicles and electrify 95 percent of USPS’s mail delivery fleet; and in May 2021, Senator Markey introduced the Community Vehicle Charging Act of 2021 to invest $375 million in a Department of Transportation grant program to install zero-emission infrastructure, including electric charging stations, for environmental justice communities.
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