The lame duck Biden administration announced Wednesday that it is moving to spend $735 million on green heavy-duty vehicles, including hundreds of millions on green school buses, in its final days.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be carrying out the spending deluge to help purchase more than 2,400 zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles, with the funding coming from President Joe Biden’s signature climate bill, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the agency announced. About 70% of the cash will be used to further the adoption of green school buses, and the Biden EPA is moving to shovel money out the door to fund its favored programs ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s official return to power in January.
“To tackle the climate crisis, we have to slash pollution from every sector, including heavy-duty transportation,” John Podesta, one of the most powerful climate advisers in the Biden administration, said of the funding. “Today’s awards from the EPA will create good-paying jobs, make our communities healthier, and protect our planet.”
Last year, the EPA selected Climate Justice Alliance, a Berkeley, California-based nonprofit, to receive a $50 million grant award despite the entity promoting the “defund the police” movement.
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Last year, the EPA selected Climate Justice Alliance, a Berkeley, California-based nonprofit, to receive a $50 million grant award despite the entity promoting the “defund the police” movement.Beyond school buses, the funding can also cover battery-powered trucks, emergency vehicles, trash haulers, school buses, transit buses, utility vehicles and more, according to the EPA. Most of the vehicles covered by the funding will be battery-powered, though some may also be powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
The IRA funding for green heavy-duty vehicles complements a $3 billion clean school bus program established by the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law and the Biden EPA’s regulations designed to significantly increase the share of zero-emissions heavy-duty vehicles on the road over the next decade.
Recipients of the funding announced Wednesday include Boston Public Schools, which is receiving about $35 million to pay for 125 new electric school buses, and Saint Louis Public Schools, which the EPA awarded about $10 million to cover the costs of 30 new zero-emissions buses to transport students, according to the agency.
The incoming Trump administration is poised to significantly cut back the Biden administration’s spending on green initiatives upon taking power next month. Accordingly, the Biden administration is reportedly hustling to disseminate billions of dollars through their various green programs as possible before they run out of time and their successors can get the chance to shut off the cash spigot.
Other agencies, such as the Department of Commerce, are similarly making haste to hand out as much money as they can before the arrival of the incoming Trump administration.
The EPA did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
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