Rep. Panetta Announces Federal Investment in Clean School Buses for the 19th Congressional District

Paso Robles, CA – United States Representative Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) announced $1.4 million in rebate funding for Atascadero Unified School District to purchase over seven clean school buses.  The funding, passed through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, is critical to tackling harmful air pollution, replacing older, diesel-fueled school buses linked to student and community health issues.  Atascadero Unified School District was one of 47 districts in California receiving more than $91 million to help purchase 380 clean school buses.

School buses travel over four billion miles each year, providing the safest transportation to and from school for more than 25 million children every day.  The Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act created the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean School Bus Program which will invest $5 billion over five years to transition a substantial portion of the nation's fleet of nearly 500,000 school buses to zero or low-emission models.  Rep. Panetta previously authored and pushed for the inclusion of his legislation, the Green Bus Tax Credit Act, to provide tax credits to municipalities to purchase and deploy zero-emission buses as part of last Congress’ landmark climate agenda.

“Clean, zero-emission buses play an important part in reducing our carbon output,” Rep. Panetta.  “The announcement of new, clean school buses for California is a huge step forward in our work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lower overall transportation costs for school districts.  I am proud to have fought for and incorporated my legislation to incentivize this transition in the landmark clean energy agenda that we passed last Congress, and I look forward to the future development and deployment of zero-emission buses all across the country.”

“EPA is proud to take another step in advancing the rollout of electric school buses in California, helping create a future where our children can breathe cleaner air,” said EPA’s Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. “I’ve seen firsthand the advantages of these electric buses, with the absence of noxious diesel emissions benefiting students, school staff, and neighboring communities. Thanks to these investments, more electric school buses will be on the road in school districts across California.”

The EPA is continuing to review selected applications and may make additional awards. The EPA is working with those applicants and will notify them of an award if their application meets all program requirements. As additional selections are finalized, the EPA will update the CSB Awards webpage.  

The EPA will also make selections through additional funding rounds and other programs. For example, the EPA is accepting applications for the 2024 Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program until 11:59 PM ET on July 25, 2024. This program offers up to $932 million in available funding, 70% of which the EPA anticipates awarding to help pay for new, zero-emission Class 6 or 7 school buses.

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