By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters), -The U.S. House of Representatives said Wednesday that they will host an April 5 hearing regarding U.S. Postal Service (USPS), plans to purchase electric cars, and lawmakers plan to push for many more zero emission delivery trucks.

USPS announced last week that it placed an initial order of $2.98 billion for 50,000 Oshkosh-based next-generation delivery cars. Although it stated at least 10,019 electric vehicles (EVs) will make up the bulk of its planned EV purchases in Oshkosh, many lawmakers believe that this is still not sufficient.

Carolyn Maloney, chair of the House Oversight Committee said that USPS should be “leading the way” and not following private businesses who are moving forward to reduce carbon emissions by electrifying fleets.

Louis DeJoy, the Postmaster General of France had previously committed to purchasing at least 10% electric vehicles as part of his multibillion dollar plan to retire 30-year-old delivery trucks.

Victoria Stephen (executive director, USPS Next Generation Delivery Vehicle) and Tammy Whitcomb from the USPS Inspector general will attend.

Congress is considering awarding $5.9 Billion to USPS in order to increase EV sales and charge infrastructure.

The USPS rejected in February a request from the White House, Environmental Protection Agency and the Environmental Protection Agency that it reconsider its plan to buy mostly gasoline-powered automobiles and host a new public hearing to examine the environmental consequences of these vehicle purchases.

USPS in Oshkosh announced on February 20, 2021 a contract worth $482 Million. The USPS also said that Oshkosh could purchase up to 165,000 vehicles for $6 billion over 10 years.

USPS has estimated that the total cost of purchasing and operating 75,000 delivery vehicles in 20 years, including fueling, is $9.3 billion (for gasoline-powered cars) and $11.6 billion (for electric vehicles).

USPS had 217,000 vehicles in 2019, covering approximately 1.2 Billion miles. It also spent $706.2 Million on maintenance for its 140,000-year-old delivery vehicles.

USPS indicated that it remains committed to “an electrified fleet” despite the fact that there are urgent safety and vehicle needs for our older fleets, along with our financial fragility.