The Biden-Harris Administration's $5 billion Clean School Bus Program is spending up to four times as much taxpayer money per school bus and benefiting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), a House of Representatives report found Tuesday.
Page 51 Report An investigation by the House Energy and Commerce Committee found that the push for electric school buses and other electric vehicles (EVs) is in the interest of the Chinese Communist Party because roughly 90% of the EV supply chain occurs in China. dependence The accusations against China have raised both national security and human rights concerns, and the average electric school bus in the first iteration of the Clean School Bus program (the first of three iterations) was Cost Calculation $381,191. That's $200,000 to $300,000 more than a typical full-size diesel school bus. (Related article: Biden Administration to pump $900 million into eco-friendly school buses as American students continue to struggle)
“The $5 billion Clean School Bus Program has been a total failure and, in many cases, a clear waste of Americans' hard-earned tax dollars,” Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said in a statement about the report's findings. “This program, led by the radical Biden-Harris EPA, [Environmental Protection Agency]It supports a market that is heavily dependent on supply chains controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.”
Clean School Bus Program Funded by Bipartisan Infrastructure Act of 2021 Provided The Biden-Harris EPA would fund the program over five years to “replace existing school buses with clean, zero-emission school buses.”
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China is currently account The U.S. accounts for roughly two-thirds of global EV battery cell production. Manufactured The report states that China's EV penetration rate will be just 7% as of 2022, raising national security concerns as the United States will likely have to rely on Chinese EV technology for electric school buses. Furthermore, government-subsidized purchases of electric school buses under the Clean School Bus Program would exacerbate existing human rights abuses in the supply of EVs, such as the use of Uighur forced labor in China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.
The report also noted that limited range is an issue, with a standard electric school bus from major manufacturer Bluebird able to travel just 120 miles on a single charge, while some propane-powered models can travel 400 miles without refueling. Range issues can also be exacerbated by hot and cold weather conditions, study A study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory found that electric buses have roughly one-third less range at 25 degrees Fahrenheit compared to ideal conditions.
Electric school buses also pose a higher risk of fraud because there are no documentation requirements for contractors, the report said. The EPA relies solely on self-certified applications and estimates prepared by applicants. Another report issued in July by the inspector general's office for a Maryland county uncovered millions of dollars in “wasteful expenditures.”
“EPA launched the Clean School Bus Program without sufficient safeguards or consideration for practical hurdles applicants might face. For example, EPA did not require documentation of some of the required application information and allowed contractors eager for the opportunity to receive federal funding to apply on behalf of school districts they knew nothing about. As a result, some school districts ultimately withdrew from the program,” the report states. “EPA did not take into account the significant upgrades to electrical infrastructure needed to electrify the school bus fleet, which could cause delays in schools getting new buses.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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