The U.S. Dept. of Transportation broke the law when it suspended the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program, according to a report the U.S. Government Accountability Office released May 22. DOT officials say the program was not implemented well and most of its funding has not been claimed by states.

Congress created the NEVI program through 2021’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to provide funding to states for deploying and maintaining electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Lawmakers appropriated $5 billion for the program, with most of the money set to become available to states in tranches each year from 2022 through 2026, minus a percentage to cover operations and administration and $300 million set for creating a Joint Office of Energy and Transportation to provide technical assistance and develop training and certification programs.

In February, DOT issued a memo notifying states that it was canceling previous guidance for the NEVI program and suspending all the plans that states submitted under the program. Additionally, DOT officials said that no new spending obligations would be incurred under the program until they issued new guidance and approved new state plans, though they added that money would continue to go out for existing project agreements. 

However, that move violated the law covering government spending obligations as well as the Impoundment Control Act, GAO investigators found, because the NEVI funds were actually obligated when made available to the program each year, rather than when project agreements are signed. DOT improperly impounded the funds, they wrote. 

GAO investigators wrote that they “do not take a position on the policy goals of the program and this is not to be interpreted as taking a position on the underlying policies entailed. Changes to these policies and priorities can be addressed through the legislative process with Congress and the administration.”

A department spokesperson said in a statement that the GAO report “shows a complete misunderstanding of the law.” The report’s conclusion conflicts with Congress’ intent and how lawmakers structure the program, they said. 

DOT is reviewing and updating NEVI program guidance “because the implementation of NEVI has failed miserably, and DOT will continue to work in good faith to update the program so it can be utilized more efficiently and effectively,” the DOT spokesperson added. As of Feb. 6, DOT reported it had signed agreements for just $526.6 million of the $3.3 billion available through NEVI.

The GAO report comes as DOT is already facing a federal lawsuit from a coalition of states over the program’s freeze. 

Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), ranking member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, said in a statement that DOT “must implement [NEVI] by releasing the funds to states, period.”

“News flash for the Trump administration: you can’t simply ignore the law when you disagree with it,” Larsen said.