House Passes Measure To Replace Old Trucks

Bill Includes $100 Mln. in Incentives for Fleet Upgrades

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he House of Representatives has approved an energy bill that includes $100 million for a new program to provide financial incentives to fleets to replace their older trucks with newer, cleaner-burning models or to retrofit their older diesel engines to meet current emission rules.

The program, added as an amendment to the energy bill by Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-Calif.), would “authorize $100 million in funding between fiscal year 2006 and fiscal year 2008” as incentives to upgrade the U.S. truck fleet.

That funding would be used to “create an [Environmental Protection Agency] program for awarding competitive grants,” said Rep. Ralph Hall (R-Texas), who supported the amendment. “We like that. We like the fact that the fleet modernization and retrofitting of existing equipment is going to reduce harmful emission and lessen smog-forming pollution.”

For the full story, see the May 2 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.