Congress may require owners of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid cars to pay an annual fee to cover their share of the cost to repair roads, which could further depress sales of those models.
Last year, Congress eliminated subsidies worth up to $7,500 for electric vehicle purchases and leases, causing sales to slump. A bipartisan bill introduced this week would go further, imposing a fee of $130 for electric vehicles and $35 for plug-in hybrids, which can travel short distances on battery power but also have combustion engines.
Sponsors of the bill said the federal fee — on top of any existing state fee — would make sure that electric vehicle owners contributed to road maintenance, which is partly funded by the federal gasoline and diesel taxes.
It “ensures that electric vehicle owners begin paying their fair share for the use of our roads,” Representative Sam Graves, a Missouri Republican who is chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said in a statement.
Representative Rick Larsen of Washington, the ranking Democrat on the committee, said in a statement that he had “worked to make sure that this new fee on E.V.s is fair and not punitive.”
“A commitment to bipartisan lawmaking means finding compromise,” he added.
But auto industry and environmental groups said the fee was substantially higher than the average fuel taxes paid by owners of gasoline cars. All electric vehicle owners would pay the same flat rate, whereas owners of vehicles that run on gasoline or diesel pay more if they drive more.
The fees make it harder for people to escape soaring fuel prices by buying an electric vehicle, said Albert Gore III, executive director of the Zero Emission Transportation Association, an industry group whose members include Tesla, Rivian and Lucid. His group estimated that most Americans paid $73 to $89 a year in federal fuel taxes.
Sales of used electric vehicles, which cost about the same to buy as similar gasoline-powered vehicles, have soared after the war in Iran raised fuel prices about 50 percent.
“This unduly penalizes people for making that choice,” Mr. Gore said. “I don’t argue that the number should be zero, but the number should be fair.”
The legislation also would abolish the federal Carbon Reduction Program, which provides funds for projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, like bicycle paths, traffic management systems and electric vehicle charging stations.
“This bill would impose an onerous new fee on electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, while slashing investments in new E.V. chargers,” said Shruti Vaidyanathan, director of transportation advocacy, climate and energy at the Natural Resources Defense Council, in a statement. “This bill largely ignores the need to build cleaner, more affordable transportation options.”
The bipartisan backing for the fee improves its chances of passage in the House, but it is not clear how the bill would fare in the Senate.
At least 41 states impose annual fees on electric vehicle owners, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The fees range from $50 in Colorado to $260 in New Jersey, The New Jersey fee will rise to $290 in 2028.
The federal fees would take effect next year and rise $5 every two years, topping out at $150 in 2035 for cars that run solely on batteries and $50 in 2033 for plug-in hybrids. States would be responsible for collecting the money and would face penalties if they did not comply.
The federal gasoline tax of 18.4 cents per gallon has not risen since 1993. President Trump has proposed suspending it to provide Americans relief from rising fuel prices. If Congress agreed to a pause lasting into next year and the House bill passed, electric vehicle and plug-in hybrid owners could be the only ones paying federal highway use taxes.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Gasoline and diesel tax revenues go into the Highway Trust Fund, which has run deficits for years and required infusions of money from the government’s general fund to remain solvent. The tax on diesel is 24.4 cents a gallon.
“This has virtually nothing to do with the Highway Trust Fund,” Mr. Gore said. “This is a drop in the bucket.”
