The Biden-Harris administration and the Environmental Protection Agency announced that $500 million is available for schools to apply to replace diesel school buses with zero-emission buses.
This marks the first round of funding from the $5 billion investment for low and zero-emission buses over the next five years from the bipartisan infrastructure law, CBS 58 reported.
Vice President Kamala Harris was at Meridian High School in Falls Church, Virginia on Friday to announce the start of the program, according to Patch.
“Vice President Harris led the Clean School Bus Act, the first bill to focus exclusively on zero-emission school buses,” Mitch Landrieu, the implementation coordinator for the infrastructure law, said to Fox 10 Phoenix this week. “Since taking office, the vice president has highlighted the importance of transitioning to zero-emission vehicles, emphasizing the benefits of good jobs, cleaner air and reduced costs.”
EPA Administrator Michael Regan said that the funding will “forever transform school bus fleets across the United States,” according to CNN.
“These funding opportunities to replace older, heavily polluting buses will result in healthier air for many of the 25 million American children who rely on school buses, many of whom live in overburdened and underserved communities,” Regan said in a statement.
Fox 10 Phoenix reports that the application is available from this Friday to Aug. 19. The application will open annually for the next five years.
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