By: Almeta E. Cooper, National Manager for Health Equity, Moms Clean Air Force
Date: November 15, 2023
Event: Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Two-Year Anniversary Senate Press Conference
Good morning. I am Almeta Cooper, the National Manager for Health Equity for Moms Clean Air Force. Moms Clean Air Force is a national organization of 1.5 million moms, dads, and caregivers who are united in protecting our children’s health from the intersecting threats of air pollution and climate change.
On this date two years ago the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was signed by President Biden. I am excited to be here today to join Senators to celebrate the second anniversary of this landmark legislation, also known as BIL or the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. It’s hard to believe it was just two years ago that Moms Clean Air Force was meeting with key staff and committee members to push for the inclusion of strong safeguards for children’s health, and then drafting op-eds, hosting events, and meeting with lawmakers (over 200 meetings!) to urge them to vote yes and vote for our children’s future.
We salute the leadership of the climate champions standing here today for their support in passing this law, which contains historic investments that will increase clean transportation, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and advance environmental justice among so many other benefits.
One of the highlights that’s especially meaningful to us at Moms Clean Air Force is a $5 billion investment in clean school buses.
Every day, millions of children across our country ride to and from school on the bus—about half a million vehicles nationwide. Nearly all of these buses are currently powered by fossil fuels—by diesel engines, which spew cancer-causing, climate-warming pollution from their tailpipes and into the air our kids breathe.
At Moms Clean Air Force, we believe that our kids, our bus drivers, and our communities deserve better.
I vividly remember putting my daughter on the bus on her first day of kindergarten all those years ago. That little sweater she was wearing, how I had braided her hair just so. Despite all my care, what I didn’t know then was that the pollution from that bus was actually a health risk for my daughter and all the other kids on the bus—and their driver. That pollution could interfere with her brain development and her learning. And that’s why we need electric school buses.
Electric school buses are changing real lives and communities for the better across this country. Let me give you three examples of how funding from BIL is proving transformative:
First, Carmen Cortez, one of our members in nearby Montgomery County, Maryland, is an electric school bus driver who—in just two years—is now training electric bus drivers in a program that went from one bus to 85! She’s grateful to be driving a bus that won’t trigger asthma attacks in her passengers.
Or take Dr. Mario Ventura in West Phoenix, Arizona. Mario serves as the Isaac School District Superintendent, a predominantly Latino school district in the crosshairs of two major highways. Mario’s district received more than $2 million for electric school buses in an area plagued by poor air quality. He’s relieved that his district’s new buses will contribute zero tailpipe pollution.
Or take Kathleen Blust, a math teacher in the rural town of Pellston in northern Michigan, where her school is replacing almost an entire fleet with electric school buses. Pellston is going all in on green-energy projects, including solar-paneled public schools and electric school buses with $1.6 million awarded for EV buses.
And by the way, Michigan is leading the Midwest in school bus electrification—Senator Stabenow, you’ll be pleased to know your state ranked second nationally with the 25 districts receiving funds from the Clean School Bus Program’s first round of rebates.
Carmen, Mario, and Kathleen remind us that this funding is providing family-supporting jobs, cleaner air, and hope for a better, more sustainable tomorrow—one electric bus at a time!
Although there is more work to be done, Moms Clean Air Force is committed to achieving the transition to an all electric school bus fleet. Every child deserves a clean ride to school—and thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re now $5 billion closer to this goal.
In closing, I commend the hard work of the champions on stage with me this morning. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is a critical investment in our future, and there’s simply nothing more important than our children's health.