Electric vehicles are only a small percentage of the cars on the road today, but they are already one of the most highly-subsidized ways to get around—and that’s only going to get worse if some in Congress get their way. Democrats, led by Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Andy Levin (D-MI), unveiled a bill earlier this month to establish a taxpayer-funded nationwide EV charging network within five years.

Though the two presented the proposal as the “EV Freedom Act,” it’s just another government spending program designed to prop up the already over-subsidized electric vehicle industry and leave taxpayers on the hook.

Money set aside for transportation infrastructure should be used to maintain our roads and bridges. Period. But instead Congress and state legislatures are funneling those limited resources into programs to promote electric vehicles. Although these cars are only a fraction of the vehicles on the road, they come standard with an oversized package of government perks.

Those who buy electric cars already benefit from government handouts, like the $7,500 federal electric vehicle payout. To tip the scales further in EV drivers' favor, they use the same roads and bridges we all drive on, but don’t pay into the Federal Highway Trust Fund for their upkeep.

Most of the funding for state and federal highways comes from gas taxes, which for years have functioned like user fees for roads and bridges. As cars and trucks have become more fuel efficient, however, fewer dollars are flowing into repairs, while resources continue to be diverted to other pet projects like EV chargers and mass transportation.

As a result, drivers in many states are facing steep gas tax increases while state legislatures scramble to find the funding their roads need. At the same time, electric vehicles—which drive on the same roads and bridges—are paying little to nothing in some states for their upkeep.

The Ocasio-Cortez and Levin plan to create a nationwide network of EV charging stations will only make this situation worse. Each dollar spent building this will take money away from projects that we should be investing in, like necessary transportation infrastructure improvements and repairs.

Ocasio-Cortez and her allies promote electric vehicles as the cars of the future. If these technologies – the vehicles and chargers – are really the best way forward, they should be able to stand on their own without massive taxpayer payouts that largely benefit the wealthy.

In fact, many major automakers are already investing in their own networks of charging stations. Tesla has a network of 1,800 charging stations and nearly 16,000 superchargers, and Ford is promising to build a network of more than 12,000 charging stations and 35,000 plugs in the U.S. and Canada.

Private businesses who see a strong future for electric vehicles will independently invest in the necessary infrastructure. This is as it should be. The Ocasio-Cortez and Levin plan would have government overstep its bounds to build out a charging network that may rarely be used or quickly become outdated.

Thomas Pyle is president of the American Energy Alliance.