ICYMI: Senator Murray Introduces Bill to Electrify School Buses, Protect Children’s Health – MORE HERE
ICYMI: Infrastructure Package Includes Senator Murray’s Clean School Bus Act – MORE HERE
(Seattle, WA) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) was joined at Seattle’s Lumen Field by Vice President Kamala Harris, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan, Governor Jay Inslee, and local officials and leaders to celebrate the electric school buses coming to Washington state via Senator Murray’s Clean School Bus Act which she successfully included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The bill is part of Senator Murray’s push to build a clean energy economy to lower emissions and lower costs for Washington state families. At the event, Senator Murray also highlighted her non-stop work to support students, parents, and educators as we recover from the pandemic and work to get Washington state kids caught up and succeeding.
“Building new, clean electric buses and getting them on our roads is good for our kids, our economy, and our planet,” said Senator Murray at the event. “That’s why for months, I pushed to pass my Clean School Bus Act. Because this is just one way we boost an economy-wide transition to clean energy. We’ll be making these clean buses here in America, creating good-paying jobs—all while promoting clean air and better health outcomes for our kids. It’s a win-win-win.”
Every day, more than 25 million children ride school buses—the overwhelming majority of which still run on diesel. As a result, millions of students and thousands of bus drivers regularly breathe polluted air during their commute to school, which has a negative impact on students’ health, particularly for students with asthma and other respiratory conditions. Furthermore, transportation accounts for the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. With approximately 500,000 school buses on the road traveling over 3 billion miles per year, this investment will assist school districts in transitioning to cleaner buses and lower emissions nationwide. This funding will help accelerate school district efforts across Washington state to electrify their school bus fleets.
Because of Senator Murray’s push for clean school buses, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests $5 billion over five years for the replacement of existing school buses with clean and zero-emission school buses. The program also prioritizes high-need school districts, rural school districts, and tribal school districts. Today, the EPA announced they are awarding nearly $1 billion to 389 school districts—including Easton, Pomeroy, South Whidbey, and Toppenish in Washington state. Across the country, these grants will help school districts purchase over 2,400 clean school buses that will accelerate the transition to zero emission vehicles and produce cleaner air in and around schools and communities.
At the event, Senator Murray also highlighted how the Inflation Reduction Act will further build on the investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to build a clean energy economy that lowers emissions and lowers costs, including by electrifying heavy-duty commercial vehicles as well.
“The Inflation Reduction Act is really going to do a lot to help supercharge a clean energy economy right here in Washington state while lowering everyday energy costs. In the Inflation Reduction Act, we even established a new federal program to help electrify heavy-duty commercial vehicles as well. Because like I said—when we think about how we shift to a clean energy economy, that transition has to happen economy-wide, and this is one step that gets us there,” said Senator Murray. “That legislation, along with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, is a huge win for Washington state—where we are already leading the nation in building that clean energy economy. The bottom line is this: Democrats—with a razor thin majority—have been focused on good-paying jobs and lower costs.”
Senator Murray’s full remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below:
“Thank you. I’m so excited to welcome my friend Vice President Harris, and EPA Administrator Regan to the better Washington, and I’m so glad to be here with Governor Inslee and so many incredible leaders in our state today.
“Before I get started—as we talk about making investments for our kids, there’s so much that we need to do.
“And top of mind for me is getting our kids’ learning back on track.
“That is absolutely my number one priority for our students—and I am not going to stop working on this issue until our students are caught up and succeeding.
“That includes getting our communities support to address the youth mental health crisis our kids are facing too.
“And I’m going to keep working with everyone I can to get this done.
“Because working with partners like Vice President Harris, working with folks across the aisle on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—well that is exactly how we got the Clean School Bus Act passed.
“And that’s what were here to discuss today—how building new, clean electric buses and getting them on our roads is good for our kids, our economy, and our planet.
“Whether our students are heading to school, to an away-game, or a field trip, there are about five hundred thousand school buses on the road traveling over 3 billion miles per year.
“But for too many kids—and too many drivers—every time they board that bus, they are boarding an old, polluting, diesel bus.
“Out of every 20 school buses in our country, 19 still use diesel fuel.
“We have so many studies now showing the connection between this pollution and kids getting sick, kids getting asthma—and I think it’s plain to anyone who has ever dropped their kid off at a bus stop, anyone whose has breathed that exhaust, that it’s just not healthy.
“It’s not good for our kids—and it’s certainly not good for our environment.
“That’s why for months, I pushed to pass my Clean School Bus Act.
“Because this is just one way we boost an economy-wide transition to clean energy.
“We’ll be making these clean buses here in America, creating good-paying jobs—all while promoting clean air and better health outcomes for our kids.
“It’s a win-win-win.
“This bill has always meant a lot to me—and I know it does for Vice President Harris, who helped lead this charge when she was in the Senate.
“This was a common sense investment that we both understood everyone should be able to get behind—and we got this passed into the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
“And by the way, I worked to make sure these resources would get to kids from school districts that have the least resources to begin with—because that’s an important part of this.
“But of course, we still have so much more to do to create a cleaner future and a sustainable, zero-emission economy, and the Inflation Reduction Act is really going to do a lot to help supercharge a clean energy economy right here in Washington state while lowering everyday energy costs.
“In the Inflation Reduction Act, we even established a new federal program to help electrify heavy-duty commercial vehicles as well.
“Because like I said—when we think about how we shift to a clean energy economy, that transition has to happen economy-wide, and this is one step that gets us there.
“That legislation, along with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, is a huge win for Washington state—where we are already leading the nation in building that clean energy economy.
“The bottom line is this: Democrats—with a razor thin majority—have been focused on good-paying jobs and lower costs.
“We recognize not just the challenges of the climate crisis—and there are challenges, as anyone in Seattle last week dealing with the smoke can tell you—but also the major opportunities that climate action provides for our communities and our economy.
“Thank you, and now I’ll turn it over to Administrator Regan.”
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