WASHINGTON – Today, following the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announcement of the 67 recipients for the first Clean School Bus Program Grants Competition, Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (CT-05) released the following statement on the impact of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provisions she fought to secure:
“Since I came to Congress in 2019, I have advocated for clean school bus funding and tirelessly fought for inclusion in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Educators know how damaging diesel exhaust can be for students and our communities. The nearly $1 billion investment, announced by the Biden-Harris Administration today, will save Connecticut school districts money, create good-paying clean energy jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protecting people and the planet. It is great to see how these efforts will impact over seven million students across the nation. This is a huge win for our state and our country.”
The Clean School Bus Program grants announced today will help selectees purchase over 2,700 clean school buses in 281 school districts across 36 states, including Connecticut.
- In 2019, Congresswoman Hayes introduced the Clean School Bus Act to establish a grant program authorized for up to $1 billion over five years for school districts, particularly those with lower-income students, to replace diesel school buses with electric school buses.
- In 2021, Congresswoman Hayes introduced the Clean Commute for Kids Act to invest $25 billion to replace existing diesel buses with electric buses.
- Congresswoman Hayes fought for clean school bus funding in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law in 2021. This led to the inclusion of over $5 billion for the EPA to administer rebates, grants, and contracts to replace a portion of the nearly 500,000 school buses with more environmentally safe models.
- In 2023, Congresswoman Hayes joined her colleagues to urge President Biden to include at least $300 million in additional funding for clean school buses in his FY24 budget request.
- In June of 2023, The Congresswoman joined Brenda Mallory, Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and other officials to announce the award of 25 zero-emission school buses to DATTCO Inc. to provide school transportation services for the Connecticut Technical Education and Career System (CTECS).
###