The lame-duck Biden administration announced Wednesday that it plans to spend $735 million on green heavy-duty vehicles, including hundreds of millions of dollars on green school buses in the final stages.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is using funding from President Joe Biden's signature climate bill, the Inflation Control Act (IRA), to help purchase more than 2,400 zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles. The government plans to make significant expenditures. announced. About 70% of the cash will be used to promote green school buses, with the Biden EPA seeking outside funding to fund priority programs ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's official return to power in January. trying to collect.
John Podesta, one of the Biden administration's most senior climate advisers, said of the funding: “To tackle the climate crisis, we must reduce pollution from all sectors, including heavy transportation.” “Today's award from EPA will create good-paying jobs, make our communities healthier, and protect our planet.” (Related: Biden administration pumps $900 million into green school buses as America's students continue to struggle)
🚨Last year, the EPA awarded a $50 million grant to the Berkeley, Calif.-based nonprofit Climate Justice Alliance, even though the group promotes the movement to “defund the police.” I was selected as a candidate to receive it.
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In addition to school buses, the funding could also go to battery-powered trucks, emergency vehicles, garbage trucks, school buses, transit buses and utility vehicles, according to the EPA. Most of the vehicles eligible for funding will be battery-powered, but some may also be powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
IRA funding for green heavy-duty vehicles is part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act of 2021 and Biden EPA regulations aimed at significantly increasing the share of zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles on the road over the next decade It complements the $3 billion Clean School Bus Program established by the United States. .
Recipients of the funding announced Wednesday include Boston Public Schools, which will receive about $35 million for 125 new electric school buses. St. Louis Public Schools is being awarded about $10 million by the EPA to cover the cost of 30 new zero-emission buses. According to the agency, the purpose is to transport students.
The incoming Trump administration is poised to drastically cut spending on the Biden administration's environmental initiatives after taking office next month. Therefore, the Biden administration reportedly They are working hard to spread billions of dollars as much as possible through various green programs before they expire and their successors have a chance to turn off the funding spigot.
Other agencies, such as the Commerce Department, are similarly rushing to distribute as much money as possible before the incoming Trump administration takes office.
The EPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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