Contact: Sasha Tenenbaum, [email protected], 917-887-0146
Washington, DC – Today, Senators Cortez Masto (NV) and Patty Murray (WA) and Representatives Jahana Hayes (CT-5) and Tony Cardenas (CA-29) introduced the Clean School Bus Act, legislation that would provide grants to transition from polluting school buses that run on diesel to clean, electric battery-powered buses.
In response to the introduction of the Clean School Bus Act, Trisha Dello Iacono, Legislative Manager at Moms Clean Air Force, issued the following statement:
“As parents, we cannot wait for the day when all children can safely attend school in person. When this happens, imagine if the school buses ferrying the millions of children who travel to school by bus ran on clean, electric power. Imagine if our children—and their bus drivers—didn’t have to inhale harmful diesel pollution during their school commute.
“With the introduction of the Clean School Bus Act, we are one step closer to having a fleet of clean—and added bonus, climate-safe—school buses. If passed, this legislation will support school districts across the country in purchasing electric buses; it will also trigger the widespread installation of charging infrastructure. Clean buses will reduce carcinogenic diesel pollution that triggers asthma attacks, interferes with normal lung development, and reduces cognitive function. The bill will also prioritize funding for those areas that are already overburdened with air pollution and childhood asthma, helping to rectify environmental injustice in highly polluted communities.
“As a mom to school-aged children, this bill gives me real hope that I can one day safely send my four children to school on an electric bus, knowing that they are riding a zero-pollution vehicle that is helping to safeguard their health and their future, because it isn’t adding climate emissions.
“The one million members of Moms Clean Air Force applaud Senator Cortez Masto and her colleagues for their commitment to our children’s health.”
RESOURCE:
Our Electric School Bus webpage is found here.
Our Clean School Bus Act petition is found here.