WASHINGTON– Today, Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (CT-05) joined Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House to announce major federal actions that will accelerate clean transportation by expanding clean public transit and school buses, reducing emissions from diesel trucks, and creating high wage jobs. Thanks to funding championed by Congresswoman Hayes in the American Rescue Plan and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, resources will be brought back to Connecticut to enhance support for these clean transit goals. In CT05, the Town of Simsbury Board of Education will receive a $25,000 Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) School Bus Rebate for the replacement of a diesel school bus.
“I am thrilled the Biden-Harris administration is dedicating funding to expanding access to clean, lower-emissions school buses,” said Congresswoman Hayes. “Along with the announced rule from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), this money will be critical to mitigating climate change, improving public health, and reducing childhood asthma resulting from exposure to air pollution and diesel fumes. These investments would not have been possible without the American Rescue Plan and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. I am grateful to Vice President Harris and the Biden Administration for their leadership on this issue, and I will continue to push for these investments until we are able to achieve low or no emissions school bus transportation nationwide.”
Congresswoman Hayes has led the fight for the electrification of school buses since her first term in Congress. In her first year, she introduced the Clean School Bus Act with then-Senator Kamala Harris, which was recommended by the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis as a solution for reducing public transit emissions. In her second term, she introduced the Clean Commute for Kids Act with Representative Tony Cárdenas, and worked with the White House and Senate to include $5 billion in grants for school bus electrification in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
More information on announcements made by Vice President Harris can be found here.