Electric School Bus Advocates Respond to Bipartisan Infrastructure Vote
Washington, D.C. — Today, on the news that the Senate has passed the bipartisan infrastructure bill, Chispa, Clean Energy Works, Earthjustice, Environmental Law and Policy Center, the League of Conservation Voters, Mothers Out Front, Moms Clean Air Force, Sierra Club, and WE ACT for Environmental Justice — members of the Alliance for Electric School Buses, a national coalition of nonprofit organizations — issued the following statement in response to the legislation providing as little as $2.5 billion for electric school buses.
“As national, regional and local advocates representing parents, students and communities most harmed by air pollution, we are extremely disappointed that this package fails to include sufficient funding for electric school buses, while also adding unnecessary and harmful funding for diesel, “natural” gas and propane school buses. No amount of tailpipe pollution is safe for children to breathe and new fossil fuel buses will aggravate the climate crisis across the next two decades.
We also remain concerned that this legislation fails to include strong labor standards that would help create good jobs in our communities. The $2.5 billion proposed falls far short of the $20 billion the White House originally proposed, and will not accelerate the overdue transition to clean rides for kids.
We call on Congress and the White House to redouble their commitment to our children’s health by adding significant funding for electric school buses in the reconciliation package. We will continue to organize our communities, municipalities and states until we secure adequate federal support to deliver clean air for the kids who need it most.”
The Alliance for Electric School Bus is a national coalition representing equity, labor, public health, clean energy, and environmental organizations united by a goal to transition the nation’s school bus fleet to pollution-free, electric models that will clean up the air 25 million children breathe.
Contacts:
Pita Juarez, Chispa: pjuarez@lcv.org, 602-413-4421