Some members of Congress continued their efforts to derail a multibillion-dollar program aimed at replacing the U.S. Postal Service's aging fleet of delivery vehicles with new, all-electric trucks, according to the Associated Press.

Though proponents of the move away from electric vehicles portrayed the change as a cost-saving move, critics said it would likely have the opposite effect. 

"I think it would be shortsighted for Congress to now suddenly decide they're going to try to go backwards and take the money away for the EVs or stop that process because that's just going to be a bunch of money on infrastructure that's been wasted," said Donald Maston, president of the National Rural Letter Carriers' Association, per the AP report. 

What's happening?

In December 2022, the U.S. Postal Service announced plans to revamp its aging fleet of vehicles, the federal government's largest. The plan called for 60,000 new USPS vehicles to be on the road by 2028, including 45,000 all-electric, battery-powered vehicles. 

The desperately needed overhaul was aimed at upgrading the postal service's decades-old fleet, much of which remains in operation despite being well beyond its intended service life. 

The program was projected to cost $9.6 billion, with $3 billion in funding provided under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, per USPS. 

At the heart of the current postal service fleet is the famous Grumman Long Life Vehicle. First introduced in 1987, these iconic delivery vehicles have an intended life span of 24 years, according to the AP. 

In addition to lacking modern amenities such as air conditioning, which increasingly is a necessity amid rising global temperatures and deadly heat waves, the vehicles are remarkably inefficient, travelling only 9 miles per gallon of gasoline. 

The vehicles are so outdated that many of the necessary replacement parts are no longer being manufactured. 

"Our mechanics are miracle workers," said Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Union, per the AP. "The parts are not available. They fabricate them. They do the best they can." 

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Upgrading to a more efficient fleet would not only reduce heat-trapping pollution but would save millions of dollars in fuel costs.

A 2022 study by the University of Michigan found that upgrading to a fleet that included 100% electric vehicles would result in 57% to 82% less pollution cradle-to-grave than a fleet of just 10% EVs.    

EV proponents have called mail delivery an ideal use of electric-vehicle technology. Mail delivery routes typically involve covering less than 30 miles per day, usually at slow speeds, and the route is predetermined. Further, the frequent stopping makes mail delivery ideal for collecting additional power through regenerative braking.

"It's the perfect application for an electric vehicle," said Maxwell Woody, lead author of the University of Michigan study, per the AP. "And it's a particularly inefficient application for an internal combustion engine vehicle." 

Despite this, critics in Congress have continued to argue that the EV transition amounts to a waste of taxpayer money. 

"We need to be smart about the way we are providing services through the federal government," said Joni Ernst, a U.S. Senator representing Iowa, per the AP. "And that was not a smart move." 

"For now, gas-powered vehicles — use some ethanol in them — I think is wonderful," continued Ernst, who represents the nation's top corn-growing state. (Ethanol is derived from corn.) 

Why are postal service trucks important?

As the operator of the largest vehicle fleet in the federal government, the postal service's projected $10 billion transition to EV technology represented a massive investment in the nation's cleaner-energy future. 

The University of Michigan study found that switching to EVs would reduce planet-heating pollution by 20 million tons over 20 years.

Given the long projected life span of postal-service vehicles, investing those funds into antiquated, gas-powered technologies would push the postal service's EV transition back by decades. 

What's being done about the postal service's EVs?

Though Ernst and like-minded lawmakers have continued their push to rescind the Inflation Reduction Act's $3 billion investment in postal-service EVs, there is still time to protect the program. 

By using your voice and contacting your elected representatives, you can let them know where you stand on the postal service's cleaner-energy fleet of the future. 

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