A group of more than 20 environmental, health and trucking industry stakeholders have asked House committees to continue funding a popular diesel emissions reduction grant program omitted from the Obama administration’s 2015 fiscal year budget.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s 2015 budget called for eliminating all funding for the Diesel Emission Reduction Act grant program that has awarded millions of dollars in grants since 2008 to help truckers and others reduce emissions.
“We hope that you recognize the enormous economic and clean-air benefits of the DERA program, and we encourage you to support $30 million in funding for fiscal year 2015 that puts appropriation for the program on a path toward its authorized level of $100 million,” the groups’ letter said.
The groups included American Trucking Associations, Navistar Inc., Cummins Inc., Caterpillar Inc., American Lung Association, Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council and Union of Concerned Scientists.
The letter was addressed to the chairman and ranking members of the House Appropriations Committee and its environment subcommittee. It was the second year in a row that the administration has attempted to discontinue funding the DERA program, which last year allocated $20 million to purchase emissions technologies, diesel trucks, school buses and off-road equipment.
Four U.S. senators leading support for a long-term transportation bill said they have reached a bipartisan agreement on broad principals they plan to iron out in detail after the Easter recess.
