{"id":21572,"date":"2025-02-28T12:58:56","date_gmt":"2025-02-28T17:58:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.merkley.senate.gov\/?p=21572"},"modified":"2025-02-28T12:58:58","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T17:58:58","slug":"merkley-wyden-colleagues-sound-the-alarm-over-epa-clean-school-bus-program-funds-freeze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.merkley.senate.gov\/es\/merkley-wyden-colleagues-sound-the-alarm-over-epa-clean-school-bus-program-funds-freeze\/","title":{"rendered":"Merkley, Wyden, Colleagues Sound the Alarm Over EPA Clean School Bus Program Funds Freeze"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.markey.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/letter_to_epa_on_the_clean_school_bus_program_and_federal_funding_freeze1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Letter Text (PDF)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Washington, D.C. \u2013 Oregon\u2019s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined their colleagues in demanding an update from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin on the distribution of funding for the Clean School Bus program to recipients with signed agreements and urging the EPA to immediately release any withheld funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><strong>In the letter, the lawmakers write<\/strong>, \u201cTo provide these health and cost savings benefits to our children and continue supporting the boom in electric bus manufacturing that is creating good-paying jobs across the country, the EPA must implement the Clean School Bus program as Congress directed. Following your confirmation hearing, you committed to the continued implementation of this program when you responded: \u2018I commit to following the law. I cannot prejudge the outcome of any particular policy review.\u2019 Recognizing that Congress authorizes and appropriates federal funding\u2014and explicitly established the Clean School Bus program through a bipartisan vote\u2014 it is your duty to implement the program and ensure program awardees have confidence in working with the EPA and are receiving funding.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Merkley and Wyden joined the letter led by Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.). It was also signed by Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The lawmakers request the following information by March 6, 2025:<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" start=\"1\">\n<li>For both rebates and grants under the Clean School Bus program, what is the status of the disbursement of already obligated funds to recipients?\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>On what legal basis did the EPA end its disbursement of already obligated funds for the program? Please identify the authority under which the EPA cut off funding.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If the disbursement of any obligated Clean School Bus Program grants and rebates currently remains frozen for any awardees, when will it resume? If you cannot provide a date, please explain why, including the legal basis for not resuming disbursements and an explanation of the EPA\u2019s grant and rebate-review process.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Will you commit to following the law by obligating the remaining Clean School Bus program grants and rebates that have yet to be awarded, or that have been awarded but not yet disbursed, through FY2026?\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">###<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Letter Text (PDF) Washington, D.C. \u2013 Oregon\u2019s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden joined their colleagues in demanding an update from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin on the distribution of funding for the Clean School Bus program to recipients with signed agreements and urging the EPA to immediately release any withheld [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":18848,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[40,45],"class_list":["post-21572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-releases","tag-education","tag-tackling-climate-change"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - 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