House Approves Fees for Electric and Hybrid Vehicles to Support Highway Trust Fund
The House of Representatives has passed a massive tax and budget bill that includes provisions to bolster the Highway Trust Fund by introducing annual registration fees for electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid vehicles. The bill, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, was advanced along party lines on May 22, 2025.
Under the proposed legislation, electric vehicle owners would be required to pay an annual fee of $250, while hybrid vehicle owners would face a $100 annual fee. These fees are expected to supplement the Highway Trust Fund, which has been facing solvency issues due to insufficient revenue from the gas and diesel tax rate established during the Clinton era.
Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, highlighted the potential benefits of the additional revenue for the nation’s freight and commuter corridors. “The bill includes provisions… to ensure that electric vehicles begin contributing to the Highway Trust Fund,” Graves said, emphasizing the importance of making EVs contribute to the fund.
The Highway Trust Fund’s financial situation has been a concern, with its most recent funding supplement approved as part of the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law in 2021. Transportation stakeholders, such as the American Trucking Associations, have endorsed the Republicans’ tax and budget package, arguing that electric cars are currently “freeloaders” that do not contribute to the Highway Trust Fund.
“The 2025 reconciliation package changes that by imposing a registration fee for the first time that is roughly equivalent to what a conventional car pays through the gas tax each year,” the ATA explained.
The bill’s passage in the House was met with criticism from Democrats, who derided the partisanship and content of the legislation. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) stated, “We could have partnered together… but you chose to go it alone, to try to drive your extreme right-wing policies down the throats of the American people.”
The bill now awaits consideration in the Republican-led Senate, where its prospects are uncertain. The White House has consistently called on Congress to clear the comprehensive tax and budget package.
The legislation reflects most of President Donald Trump’s domestic policy agenda, prioritizing funding for military weapons modernization, border security, and immigration enforcement, while also extending the Trump-era 2017 tax cuts.
As the bill moves forward, its impact on transportation funding and the automotive industry will be closely watched.
