I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2721 

To reauthorize the Clean School Bus Program. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 21, 2021 

Mr. CA ́RDENAS (for himself and Mrs. HAYES) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Clean School Bus Program. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Clean Commute for 

5 Kids Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CLEAN SCHOOL BUS PROGRAM. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 741 of the Energy Policy 

8 Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16091) is amended to read as 

9 follows: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 741. CLEAN SCHOOL BUS PROGRAM. 

11 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis2 trator’ means the Administrator of the Environ3 mental Protection Agency. 

4 ‘‘(2) CLEAN SCHOOL BUS.—The term ‘clean 

5 school bus’ means a school bus that is a zero-emis6 sion school bus. 

7 ‘‘(3) COMMUNITY OF COLOR.—The term ‘com8 munity of color’ means any geographically distinct 

9 area the population of color of which is higher than 

10 the average population of color of the State in which 

11 the community is located. 

12 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE CONTRACTOR.—The term ‘eligi13 ble contractor’ means a contractor that is a for-prof14 it, not-for-profit, or nonprofit entity that has the ca15 pacity— 

16 ‘‘(A) to sell clean school buses, or charging 

17 or other equipment needed to charge or main18 tain clean school buses, to individuals or enti19 ties that own a school bus or fleet of school 

20 buses; or 

21 ‘‘(B) to arrange financing for such a sale. 

22 ‘‘(5) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara24 graph (B), the term ‘eligible recipient’ means— 


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1 ‘‘(i) 1 or more local or State govern2 mental entities responsible for— 

3 ‘‘(I) providing school bus service 

4 to 1 or more public school systems; or 

5 ‘‘(II) the purchase of school 

6 buses; 

7 ‘‘(ii) a tribally controlled school (as 

8 defined in section 5212 of the Tribally 

9 Controlled Schools Act of 1988 (25 U.S.C. 

10 2511)); 

11 ‘‘(iii) a nonprofit school transportation 

12 association; or 

13 ‘‘(iv) 1 or more contracting entities 

14 that provide school bus service to 1 or 

15 more public school systems. 

16 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS.—In the 

17 case of eligible recipients identified under 

18 clauses (iii) and (iv) of subparagraph (A), the 

19 Administrator shall establish timely and appro20 priate requirements for notice and may estab21 lish timely and appropriate requirements for ap22 proval by the public school systems that would 

23 be served by buses purchased using award 

24 funds made available under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(6) INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY.—The term ‘in2 digenous community’ means— 

3 ‘‘(A) a federally recognized Indian Tribe; 

4 ‘‘(B) a State-recognized Indian Tribe; 

5 ‘‘(C) an Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian 

6 community or organization; or 

7 ‘‘(D) any other community of indigenous 

8 people, including communities in other coun9 tries. 

10 ‘‘(7) LOW INCOME.—The term ‘low income’ 

11 means an annual household income equal to, or less 

12 than, the greater of— 

13 ‘‘(A) an amount equal to 80 percent of the 

14 median income of the area in which the house15 hold is located, as reported by the Department 

16 of Housing and Urban Development; and 

17 ‘‘(B) 200 percent of the Federal poverty 

18 line. 

19 ‘‘(8) LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY.—The term 

20 ‘low-income community’ means any census block 

21 group in which 30 percent or more of the population 

22 are individuals with low income. 

23 ‘‘(9) SCHOOL BUS.—The term ‘school bus’ has 

24 the meaning given the term ‘schoolbus’ in section 

25 30125(a) of title 49, United States Code. 


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1 ‘‘(10) SCRAP.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘scrap’ 

3 means, with respect to a school bus engine re4 placed using funds awarded under this section, 

5 to recycle, crush, or shred the engine within 

6 such period and in such manner as determined 

7 by the Administrator. 

8 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘scrap’ does 

9 not include selling, leasing, exchanging, or oth10 erwise disposing of an engine described in sub11 paragraph (A) for use in another motor vehicle 

12 in any location. 

13 ‘‘(11) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

14 means the Secretary of Energy. 

15 ‘‘(12) ZERO-EMISSION SCHOOL BUS.—The term 

16 ‘zero-emission school bus’ means a school bus with 

17 a drivetrain that produces, under any possible oper18 ational mode or condition, zero exhaust emission 

19 of— 

20 ‘‘(A) any air pollutant that is listed pursu21 ant to section 108(a) of the Clean Air Act (42 

22 U.S.C. 7408(a)) (or any precursor to such an 

23 air pollutant); and 

24 ‘‘(B) any greenhouse gas. 


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1 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM FOR REPLACEMENT OF EXISTING

2 SCHOOL BUSES WITH CLEAN SCHOOL BUSES.— 

3 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator, in 

4 consultation with the Secretary, shall establish a 

5 program for— 

6 ‘‘(A) making awards on a competitive basis 

7 of grants, rebates, and low-cost revolving loans 

8 to eligible recipients for the replacement of ex9 isting school buses with clean school buses; and 

10 ‘‘(B) making awards of contracts to eligi11 ble contractors for providing rebates and low12 cost revolving loans for the replacement of ex13 isting school buses with clean school buses. 

14 ‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS.—An applicant for an 

15 award under this section shall submit to the Admin16 istrator an application at such time, in such manner, 

17 and containing such information as the Adminis18 trator may require, including— 

19 ‘‘(A) a written assurance that— 

20 ‘‘(i) all laborers and mechanics em21 ployed by contractors or subcontractors 

22 during construction, alteration, or repair, 

23 or at any manufacturing operation, that is 

24 financed, in whole or in part, by an award 

25 under this section, shall be paid wages at 


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1 rates not less than those prevailing in a 

2 similar firm or on similar construction in 

3 the locality, as determined by the Sec4 retary of Labor in accordance with sub5 chapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, 

6 United States Code; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary of Labor shall, 

8 with respect to the labor standards de9 scribed in this clause, have the authority 

10 and functions set forth in Reorganization 

11 Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 (64 Stat. 

12 1267; 5 U.S.C. App.) and section 3145 of 

13 title 40, United States Code; 

14 ‘‘(B) a certification that no public work or 

15 service normally performed by a public em16 ployee will be privatized or subcontracted in 

17 carrying out a project funded by the award; 

18 ‘‘(C) to ensure a fair assessment of work19 force impact related to an award under this sec20 tion, a detailed accounting with respect to rel21 evant employees, including employees in each of 

22 management, administration, operations, and 

23 maintenance, of the eligible recipient at the 

24 time of the application, including— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the number of employees, orga2 nized by salary; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the bargaining unit status of 

4 each employee; 

5 ‘‘(iii) the full- or part-time status of 

6 each employee; and 

7 ‘‘(iv) the job title of each employee; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(D) a description of coordination and ad10 vance planning with the local electricity pro11 vider. 

12 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE MANUFACTURERS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

14 shall maintain and make publicly available a list 

15 of manufacturers of clean school bus manufac16 turers from whom recipients of awards under 

17 this section may order clean school buses. 

18 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—The Administrator shall 

19 establish a process by which manufacturers may 

20 seek inclusion on the list established pursuant 

21 to this subparagraph, which process shall in22 clude the submission of such information as the 

23 Administrator may require, including— 

24 ‘‘(i) a disclosure of whether there has 

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1 tion, arbitral award or decision, or civil 

2 judgment, as defined in guidance issued by 

3 the Secretary of Labor, rendered against 

4 the manufacturer in the preceding 3 years 

5 for violations of applicable labor, employ6 ment, civil rights, or health and safety 

7 laws; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) specific information regarding 

9 the actions the manufacturer will take to 

10 demonstrate compliance with, and where 

11 possible exceedance of, requirements under 

12 applicable labor, employment, civil rights, 

13 and health and safety laws, and actions the 

14 manufacturer will take to ensure that its 

15 direct suppliers demonstrate compliance 

16 with applicable labor, employment, civil 

17 rights, and health and safety laws. 

18 ‘‘(4) PRIORITY OF APPLICATIONS.—— 

19 ‘‘(A) HIGHEST PRIORITY.—In making 

20 awards under paragraph (1), the Administrator 

21 shall give highest priority to applicants that 

22 propose to replace school buses that serve the 

23 highest number of students (measured in abso24 lute numbers or percentage of student popu25 lation) who are eligible for free or reduced price 


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1 lunches under the Richard B. Russell National 

2 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.). 

3 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL PRIORITY.—In making 

4 awards under paragraph (1), the Administrator 

5 shall give priority to applicants that propose to 

6 complement the assistance received through the 

7 award by securing additional sources of funding 

8 for the activities supported through the award, 

9 such as through— 

10 ‘‘(i) public-private partnerships with 

11 electric companies; 

12 ‘‘(ii) grants from other entities; or 

13 ‘‘(iii) issuance of school bonds. 

14 ‘‘(5) USE OF SCHOOL BUS FLEET.—All clean 

15 school buses acquired with funds provided under this 

16 section shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) be operated as part of the school bus 

18 fleet for which the award was made for not less 

19 than 5 years; 

20 ‘‘(B) be maintained, operated, charged, 

21 and fueled according to manufacturer rec22 ommendations or State requirements; and 

23 ‘‘(C) not be manufactured or retrofitted 

24 with, or otherwise have installed, a power unit 

25 or other technology that creates air pollution 


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1 within the school bus, such as an unvented die2 sel passenger heater. 

3 ‘‘(6) AWARDS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In making awards 

5 under paragraph (1), the Administrator may 

6 make awards for up to 100 percent of the re7 placement costs for clean school buses, provided 

8 that such replacement costs shall not exceed 

9 110 percent of the amount equal to the dif10 ference between the cost of a clean school bus 

11 and the cost of a diesel school bus. 

12 ‘‘(B) STRUCTURING AWARDS.—In making 

13 an award under paragraph (1)(A), the Adminis14 trator shall decide whether to award a grant, 

15 rebate, or low-cost revolving loan, or a combina16 tion thereof, based primarily on— 

17 ‘‘(i) how best to facilitate replacing 

18 existing school buses with clean school 

19 buses; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) the preference of the eligible re21 cipient. 

22 ‘‘(C) INCLUDED COSTS.—Awards under 

23 paragraph (1) may pay for— 


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1 ‘‘(i) acquisition and labor costs for 

2 charging or other infrastructure needed to 

3 charge or maintain clean school buses; 

4 ‘‘(ii) workforce development and train5 ing, to support the maintenance, charging, 

6 and operations of electric school buses; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) planning and technical activities 

8 to support the adoption and deployment of 

9 clean school buses. 

10 ‘‘(D) EXCEPTION.—In the case of awards 

11 under paragraph (1) to eligible recipients de12 scribed in subsection (a)(5)(A)(iv), the Adminis13 trator may make awards for up to 70 percent 

14 of the replacement costs for clean school buses, 

15 except that if such a recipient demonstrates, to 

16 the satisfaction of the Administrator, that its 

17 labor standards are equal to or exceed those of 

18 the public school system that would be served 

19 by the clean school buses acquired with an 

20 award under this section, the Administrator 

21 may make an award to such recipient for up to 

22 90 percent of the replacement costs for clean 

23 school buses. 

24 ‘‘(E) REQUIREMENTS.—The Administrator 

25 shall require, as a condition of receiving an 


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1 award under this section, that award recipi2 ents— 

3 ‘‘(i) do not, as a result of receiving 

4 the award— 

5 ‘‘(I) lay off, transfer, or demote 

6 any current employee; or 

7 ‘‘(II) reduce the salary or bene8 fits of any current employee or worsen 

9 the conditions of work of any current 

10 employee; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) provide current employees with 

12 training to effectively operate, maintain, or 

13 otherwise adapt to new technologies relat14 ing to clean school buses. 

15 ‘‘(F) BUY AMERICA.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro17 vided in clause (ii), any clean school bus or 

18 electric vehicle supply equipment pur19 chased using funds awarded under this 

20 section shall comply with the requirements 

21 described in section 5323(j) of title 49, 

22 United States Code. 

23 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTIONS.— 

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1 quirements describe in clause (i) in 

2 the same manner and to the same ex3 tent as the Secretary of Transpor4 tation may provide a waiver under 

5 section 5323(j)(2) of title 49, United 

6 States Code. 

7 ‘‘(II) PERCENTAGE OF COMPO8 NENTS AND SUBCOMPONENTS.—The 

9 Administrator may grant a waiver in 

10 accordance with section 5323(j)(2)(C) 

11 of title 49, United States Code, when 

12 a grant recipient procures a clean 

13 school bus or electric vehicle supply 

14 equipment using funds awarded under 

15 the program for which the cost of 

16 components and subcomponents pro17 duced in the United States— 

18 ‘‘(aa) for each of fiscal years 

19 2021 through 2025, is more than 

20 60 percent of the cost of all com21 ponents of the clean school bus; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(bb) for fiscal year 2025 

24 and each fiscal year thereafter, is 

25 more than 70 percent of the cost 


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1 of all components of the clean 

2 school bus. 

3 ‘‘(7) DEPLOYMENT AND DISTRIBUTION.—The 

4 Administrator shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) to the maximum extent practicable, 

6 achieve nationwide deployment of clean school 

7 buses through the program under this section; 

8 ‘‘(B) ensure, as practicable, a broad geo9 graphic distribution of awards under paragraph 

10 (1) each fiscal year; 

11 ‘‘(C) solicit early applications for large12 scale deployments and, as soon as reasonably 

13 practicable, award grants for at least one such 

14 large scale deployment in a rural location and 

15 another in an urban location, subject to the re16 quirement that each such award recipient— 

17 ‘‘(i) participate in the development of 

18 best practices, lessons learned, and other 

19 information sharing to guide the imple20 mentation of the award program, including 

21 relating to building out associated infra22 structure; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) cooperate as specified in sub24 paragraph (D); and 


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1 ‘‘(D) develop, in cooperation with award 

2 recipients, resources for future award recipients 

3 under this section. 

4 ‘‘(8) SCRAPPAGE.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

6 shall require the recipient of an award under 

7 paragraph (1) to verify, not later than 1 year 

8 after receiving a clean school bus purchased 

9 using the award, that the engine of the replaced 

10 school bus has been scrapped. 

11 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Subject to such condi12 tions the Administrator determines appropriate, 

13 giving consideration to public health and reduc14 ing emissions of pollutants, the Administrator 

15 may waive the requirements of subparagraph 

16 (A) for school buses that meet— 

17 ‘‘(i) the emission standards applicable 

18 to a new school bus as of the date of en19 actment of the Clean Commute for Kids 

20 Act of 2021; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) subsequent emission standards 

22 that are at least as stringent as the stand23 ards referred to in clause (i). 

24 ‘‘(c) EDUCATION AND OUTREACH.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

2 after the date of enactment of the Clean Commute 

3 for Kids Act of 2021, the Administrator shall de4 velop an education and outreach program to promote 

5 and explain the award program under this section. 

6 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS.— 

7 The education and outreach program under para8 graph (1) shall be designed and conducted in con9 junction with interested national school bus trans10 portation associations, labor unions, electric utilities, 

11 manufacturers of clean school buses, manufacturers 

12 of components of clean school buses, clean transpor13 tation nonprofit organizations, and other stake14 holders. 

15 ‘‘(3) COMPONENTS.—The education and out16 reach program under paragraph (1) shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) inform, encourage, and support po18 tential award recipients on the process of apply19 ing for awards and fulfilling the requirements 

20 of awards; 

21 ‘‘(B) describe the available technologies 

22 and the benefits of the technologies; 

23 ‘‘(C) explain the benefits of participating 

24 in the award program; 


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1 ‘‘(D) make available information regarding 

2 best practices, lessons learned, and technical 

3 and other information regarding— 

4 ‘‘(i) clean school bus acquisition and 

5 deployment; 

6 ‘‘(ii) the build-out of associated infra7 structure and advance planning with the 

8 local electricity supplier; 

9 ‘‘(iii) workforce development and 

10 training; and 

11 ‘‘(iv) any other information that, in 

12 the judgment of the Administrator, is rel13 evant to transitioning to and deploying 

14 clean school buses; 

15 ‘‘(E) make available the information pro16 vided by the Secretary pursuant to subsection 

17 (d); 

18 ‘‘(F) in consultation with the Secretary, 

19 make information available about how clean 

20 school buses can be part of building community 

21 resilience to the effects of climate change; and 

22 ‘‘(G) include, as appropriate, information 

23 from the annual report required under sub24 section (g). 

25 ‘‘(d) DOE ASSISTANCE.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) INFORMATION GATHERING.—The Sec2 retary shall gather, and not less than annually share 

3 with the Administrator, information regarding— 

4 ‘‘(A) vehicle-to-grid technology, including 

5 best practices and use-case scenarios; 

6 ‘‘(B) the use of clean school buses for com7 munity resilience; and 

8 ‘‘(C) technical aspects of clean school bus 

9 management and deployment. 

10 ‘‘(2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

11 shall, in response to a request from the Adminis12 trator, or from an applicant for or recipient of an 

13 award under this section, provide technical assist14 ance in the development of an application for or the 

15 use of award funds. 

16 ‘‘(e) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The Administrator 

17 may use, for the administrative costs of carrying out this 

18 section, not more than two percent of the amounts made 

19 available to carry out this section for any fiscal year. 

20 ‘‘(f) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than January 31 

21 of each year, the Administrator shall submit to Congress 

22 a report that— 

23 ‘‘(1) evaluates the implementation of this sec24 tion; 

25 ‘‘(2) describes— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the total number of applications re2 ceived for awards under this section; 

3 ‘‘(B) the number of clean school buses re4 quested in such applications; 

5 ‘‘(C) the awards made under this section 

6 and the criteria used to select the award recipi7 ents; 

8 ‘‘(D) the awards made under this section 

9 for charging and fueling infrastructure; 

10 ‘‘(E) ongoing compliance with the commit11 ments made by manufacturers on the list main12 tained by the Administrator under subsection 

13 (b)(3); 

14 ‘‘(F) the estimated effect of the awards 

15 under this section on emission of air pollutants, 

16 including greenhouse gases; and 

17 ‘‘(G) any other information the Adminis18 trator considers appropriate; and 

19 ‘‘(3) describes any waiver granted under sub20 section (b)(5)(B) during the preceding year. 

21 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

23 appropriated to the Administrator to carry out this 

24 section, to remain available until expended, 


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1 $2,500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 

2 through 2031. 

3 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION.—Of the amount authorized 

4 to be appropriated for carrying out this section for 

5 each fiscal year, no less than $1,000,000,000 shall 

6 be used for awards under this section to eligible re7 cipients proposing to replace school buses to serve a 

8 community of color, indigenous community, low-in9 come community, or any community located in an 

10 air quality area designated pursuant to section 107 

11 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7407) as nonattain12 ment.’’. 

13 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT TO STRIKE REDUN14 DANT AUTHORIZATION.—The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, 

15 Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users 

16 (commonly referred to as ‘‘SAFETEA–LU’’) is amend17 ed— 

18 (1) by striking section 6015 (42 U.S.C. 

19 16091a); and 

20 (2) in the table of contents in section 1(b) of 

21 such Act, by striking the item relating to section 

22 6015. 

Æ 


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