Latest news with #CleanSchoolBus
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Electric school bus funds ‘flowing' positive for Blue Bird, says Barclays
Barclays says round 3 of the Clean School Bus was unfrozen by the EPA after a review in accordance with recent executive orders, noting that about 10% of the roughly $900M total was 'approved in the last week alone.' This news is 'incrementally positive' for Blue Bird (BLBD) in a backdrop where 'most things EV have been seemingly more cautious,' according to the analyst, who has an Overweight rating and $54 price target on the bus maker's shares. Discover outperforming stocks and invest smarter with Top Smart Score Stocks. Filter, analyze, and streamline your search for investment opportunities using Tipranks' Stock Screener. Published first on TheFly – the ultimate source for real-time, market-moving breaking financial news. Try Now>> See today's best-performing stocks on TipRanks >> Read More on BLBD: Disclaimer & DisclosureReport an Issue Blue Bird price target lowered to $61 from $67 at DA Davidson Trump Trade: President said to end IRS Direct File, block DeepSeek Electric school bus shift stalls amid federal funding pause, Bloomberg says
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Democrats escalate attacks as Trump EPA holds back climate spending
Democrats ramped up their pressure against the EPA spending freeze for several Inflation Reduction Act climate programs on Thursday, blasting the move as an illegal impoundment of congressionally mandated spending that violated a court ruling issued earlier this week. Lawmakers staged a rally at EPA's downtown headquarters that drew about 100 people to protest actions by the Trump administration and the Elon Musk-led 'Department of Government Efficiency' for efforts they said were designed to intimidate agency staff and flout the legal orders to resume spending on climate and environment programs enacted under the Biden administration. 'Nobody elected Elon Musk or his teenage hackers who are inside of these buildings stealing our data, trying to fire federal employees, taking down federally funded science,' Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) said at the event. 'They have infiltrated our government as unelected, unvetted and unqualified billionaires and their club defying our democracy, breaking the law and trying to scare the hell out of the American people — and we won't stand for it.' DOGE representatives have fanned out to multiple federal agencies in recent days, including at least one at EPA. On Thursday, EPA put on leave 168 employees who worked on addressing pollution facing communities of color and low-income and rural areas. Democrats said the agencies have provided little clarity about the status of several programs totaling tens of billions of dollars. Grant recipients, lawmakers and state officials say all IRA money from the EPA remained frozen as of Thursday afternoon, including the $7 billion Solar for All program and the $5 billion climate pollution reduction grants programs. Other programs funded through the bipartisan infrastructure law also remain frozen, such as the $5 billion Clean School Bus program, even as some awards from other programs from that law are flowing again. 'It's contrary to court orders, it's contrary to existing law, it's contrary to the Impoundment Act of 1974, and it's contrary to Supreme Court precedent,' Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, the top Democrat on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said on the hill. 'They are hurting lots of people, and that is why we are seeing a turn in sentiment,' he added. Still, Democrats were struggling with how to force EPA to abide by a federal judge's Monday ruling that barred agencies from enforcing any remaining elements of the Trump administration's spending freeze. 'We're here so that you will report that we are here, saying that the EPA is in violation of the law if they are freezing programs,' Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), flanked by Reps. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), told reporters outside EPA. 'And then if you report that, then we believe that, by the millions, people are going to be outraged because they will not want the EPA to be crushed.' An EPA spokesperson said the agency was working to restart the flow of money. 'Given the funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Democrats' wasteful Green New Deal more than doubled the annual operating budget of the EPA, these things take time. The agency is working to comply,' EPA spokesperson Molly Vaseliou said in statement. The Democratic lawmakers unsuccessfully attempted to enter the building to request a meeting with DOGE officials there and newly installed Administrator Lee Zeldin. Zeldin was in Los Angeles on Thursday as part of EPA's response to the devastating wildfires there. EPA did not respond to requests for comment about whether DOGE officials were present at agency headquarters, though Stansbury told reporters they were inside the building on Thursday. Stansbury said White House officials had told New Mexico universities in recent days they would face funding cuts to research faculty. 'They're getting random memos from random people that they're not even sure who they work for,' she said. Four senior Democratic appropriators also wrote to EPA on Thursday calling the continued withholding of funds 'flagrantly illegal,' even as some money started to trickle out again. 'Let us be clear — all of EPA's funding must be made available and disbursed pursuant to the law with no exceptions,' wrote Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Reps. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.). Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, told POLITICO on Thursday she planned to follow up with the Trump administration about funding for the Clean School Bus program. 'I will find out about the school buses,' Capito said. GreenPower, a bus manufacturer in her state that has received orders funded by the program, told her it is 'concerned' about losing funding. Other Republicans said they supported the Trump administration continuing to withhold funds, which they characterized as a temporary maneuver in order for agencies to ensure the spending is being spent in accordance with the law. 'I'm from a state where people really support what Trump is doing, and even if it affected them personally, I don't think they are gonna complain,' Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) told POLITICO. A Democratic spokesperson for the Energy Committee said more than $12 billion in funding for Western drought projects that Congress provided through the Inflation Reduction Act and the bipartisan infrastructure law remains frozen. Spokespersons for the Interior Department did not respond to a request for comment. Contracts have been signed for much of that money, including water conservation projects aimed at keeping the drought-addled Colorado River basin out of a near-term crisis. Construction on some of those projects is currently underway. 'These are agreements the federal government made with Arizona cities, tribal communities, and farmers, and they are essential to keeping the Colorado River flowing,' Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) said in a statement. 'In the middle of a historic drought, this needs to be reversed immediately.' The freeze also covers an $81 million IRA-funded plan intended to blunt California's water wars, the committee spokesperson said, as well as upgrades to aging infrastructure across the West. That includes projects in California's main water hub that would benefit Central Valley farmers whose cause President Donald Trump trumpets frequently. Democrats expressed optimism that federal courts would act to ensure the Trump administration upholds the law — and that judges would continue to rule against them — but worried about the damage being done to their clean energy and climate legacy in the meantime. 'We were in the middle of a legit manufacturing and clean energy boom and Donald Trump is pulling the plug, so it's going to take awhile for it to backfire. But it's going to backfire spectacularly at the economic and political level,' Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii.) said. James Bikales contributed to this report.
Politico
07-02-2025
- Business
- Politico
Democrats escalate attacks as Trump EPA holds back climate spending
Democrats ramped up their pressure against the EPA spending freeze for several Inflation Reduction Act climate programs on Thursday, blasting the move as an illegal impoundment of congressionally mandated spending that violated a court ruling issued earlier this week. Lawmakers staged a rally at EPA's downtown headquarters that drew about 100 people to protest actions by the Trump administration and the Elon Musk-led 'Department of Government Efficiency' for efforts they said were designed to intimidate agency staff and flout the legal orders to resume spending on climate and environment programs enacted under the Biden administration. 'Nobody elected Elon Musk or his teenage hackers who are inside of these buildings stealing our data, trying to fire federal employees, taking down federally funded science,' Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) said at the event. 'They have infiltrated our government as unelected, unvetted and unqualified billionaires and their club defying our democracy, breaking the law and trying to scare the hell out of the American people — and we won't stand for it.' DOGE representatives have fanned out to multiple federal agencies in recent days, including at least one at EPA. On Thursday, EPA put on leave 168 employees who worked on addressing pollution facing communities of color and low-income and rural areas. Democrats said the agencies have provided little clarity about the status of several programs totaling tens of billions of dollars. Grant recipients, lawmakers and state officials say all IRA money from the EPA remained frozen as of Thursday afternoon, including the $7 billion Solar for All program and the $5 billion climate pollution reduction grants programs. Other programs funded through the bipartisan infrastructure law also remain frozen, such as the $5 billion Clean School Bus program, even as some awards from other programs from that law are flowing again. 'It's contrary to court orders, it's contrary to existing law, it's contrary to the Impoundment Act of 1974, and it's contrary to Supreme Court precedent,' Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, the top Democrat on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said on the hill. 'They are hurting lots of people, and that is why we are seeing a turn in sentiment,' he added. Still, Democrats were struggling with how to force EPA to abide by a federal judge's Monday ruling that barred agencies from enforcing any remaining elements of the Trump administration's spending freeze. 'We're here so that you will report that we are here, saying that the EPA is in violation of the law if they are freezing programs,' Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), flanked by Reps. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), told reporters outside EPA. 'And then if you report that, then we believe that, by the millions, people are going to be outraged because they will not want the EPA to be crushed.' An EPA spokesperson said the agency was working to restart the flow of money. 'Given the funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Democrats' wasteful Green New Deal more than doubled the annual operating budget of the EPA, these things take time. The agency is working to comply,' EPA spokesperson Molly Vaseliou said in statement. The Democratic lawmakers unsuccessfully attempted to enter the building to request a meeting with DOGE officials there and newly installed Administrator Lee Zeldin. Zeldin was in Los Angeles on Thursday as part of EPA's response to the devastating wildfires there. EPA did not respond to requests for comment about whether DOGE officials were present at agency headquarters, though Stansbury told reporters they were inside the building on Thursday. Stansbury said White House officials had told New Mexico universities in recent days they would face funding cuts to research faculty. 'They're getting random memos from random people that they're not even sure who they work for,' she said. Four senior Democratic appropriators also wrote to EPA on Thursday calling the continued withholding of funds 'flagrantly illegal,' even as some money started to trickle out again. 'Let us be clear — all of EPA's funding must be made available and disbursed pursuant to the law with no exceptions,' wrote Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Reps. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.). Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, told POLITICO on Thursday she planned to follow up with the Trump administration about funding for the Clean School Bus program. 'I will find out about the school buses,' Capito said. GreenPower, a bus manufacturer in her state that has received orders funded by the program, told her it is 'concerned' about losing funding. Other Republicans said they supported the Trump administration continuing to withhold funds, which they characterized as a temporary maneuver in order for agencies to ensure the spending is being spent in accordance with the law. 'I'm from a state where people really support what Trump is doing, and even if it affected them personally, I don't think they are gonna complain,' Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) told POLITICO. A Democratic spokesperson for the Energy Committee said more than $12 billion in funding for Western drought projects that Congress provided through the Inflation Reduction Act and the bipartisan infrastructure law remains frozen. Spokespersons for the Interior Department did not respond to a request for comment. Contracts have been signed for much of that money, including water conservation projects aimed at keeping the drought-addled Colorado River basin out of a near-term crisis. Construction on some of those projects is currently underway. 'These are agreements the federal government made with Arizona cities, tribal communities, and farmers, and they are essential to keeping the Colorado River flowing,' Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) said in a statement. 'In the middle of a historic drought, this needs to be reversed immediately.' The freeze also covers an $81 million IRA-funded plan intended to blunt California's water wars, the committee spokesperson said, as well as upgrades to aging infrastructure across the West. That includes projects in California's main water hub that would benefit Central Valley farmers whose cause President Donald Trump trumpets frequently. Democrats expressed optimism that federal courts would act to ensure the Trump administration upholds the law — and that judges would continue to rule against them — but worried about the damage being done to their clean energy and climate legacy in the meantime. 'We were in the middle of a legit manufacturing and clean energy boom and Donald Trump is pulling the plug, so it's going to take awhile for it to backfire. But it's going to backfire spectacularly at the economic and political level,' Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii.) said. James Bikales contributed to this report.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
EPA funds still frozen despite agency memo, lawmakers' pressure
Funding for several key Environmental Protection Agency programs remained on hold Wednesday despite an internal directive calling for agency staff to comply with a court ruling to disburse the money and intervention from lawmakers concerned about projects in their states and districts. An internal EPA memo issued Tuesday that was obtained by POLITICO directed agency officials to 'enable the obligation' of funds under the bipartisan infrastructure law and Inflation Reduction Act that had been paused by the Trump administration since it took office. The EPA memo cited a ruling by a federal judge on Monday that barred agencies from enforcing any remaining elements of the administration's spending freeze. However, EPA has not issued information on which of the programs funded by the two laws have been unfrozen, sparking confusion among award recipients and on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers from both parties are pushing the administration to allow the money to flow to particular programs. EPA declined to comment for this story, citing the pending litigation. 'It's hard to tell what is incompetence and what is confusion and what is basically contemptuous trickery,' said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee. 'But it does seem that they say one thing, and then the funds don't move.' EPW Chair Shelley Moore Capito ( has been in contact with EPA in a bid to get funds released, she and other lawmakers said. Awards under EPA's brownfields remediation program, which was funded by the infrastructure law, were flowing again on Wednesday after Capito and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) intervened, the two lawmakers said in a hearing. Most of the programs that EPA initially targeted to be unfrozen were from the infrastructure law, POLITICO previously reported. But the internet portal to access funds from EPA's $5 billion Clean School Bus program, which was created by the infrastructure law, remained inaccessible on Wednesday, according to two recipients. Chris Kilbride, the superintendent of the Ritenour School District outside St. Louis, Missouri, told POLITICO the district was unable access the EPA funds it was planning to draw down this week to pay for 21 new electric buses, all of which are built and ready to be delivered. 'Our grant is still frozen,' Kilbride said. 'We've got our CFO checking three times a day on the portal.' The district also received a $830,000 bill this week for EV charging stations it installed for the buses — costs that are meant to be funded by the program. It is working with its contractor to delay payment until it gets clarity on the federal funds. 'We're committed to not using local tax dollars to make this happen,' Kilbride said. Neither Kilbride nor Rep. Wesley Bell , a Democrat who represents the district, have been able to get information from EPA on if or when the grant will be unfrozen. 'There's no guidance — I'm a congressman, and we're scrambling to figure out what the administration is trying to do,' Bell said. 'We should not be wondering if a school district can buy school buses that are ready and waiting for it.' Capito said she had also discussed the Clean Bus Program with people in the Trump administration after GreenPower, a bus manufacturer in her state that has received orders funded by the program, told her it is 'concerned' about losing funding. 'We are trying to help them work through it to figure out what the status is,' Capito said. One person who works with state governments on climate policies said on Wednesday all the IRA money was frozen, including the $7 billion Solar for All program and the $5 billion climate pollution reduction grants programs. Another official with a state energy office also told POLITICO on Wednesday that it still could not access EPA climate funds despite the new agency memo. Whitehouse accused EPA of purposefully creating a 'fog bank of confusion and uncertainty and uncommunicativeness' around the status of the funds. He praised Capito for her effort 'to work through individual jams of Republican and Democratic members' by flagging issues to the Trump administration, but said those interactions have not led 'all the way to money flowing.' Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, the top Democrat on the Energy Committee, said he had seen some 'surprising and positive' progress on unfreezing funding for his state, but money for some other programs was still held up. 'It's chaos, and that's the point,' Heinrich told POLITICO Wednesday. Energy Committee staff members familiar with the situation had previously told POLITICO that recipients of money from the Interior Department's Bureau of Reclamation had informed the committee that their awards for several projects funded under the IRA and infrastructure law were on hold. Those included projects enhancing drought resilience, erosion mitigation and sediment removal. Other Democrats said they are fearful the Trump administration could start unlocking funding for Republican-led states, but not theirs. 'At what point is he [Trump] going to start picking winners and losers?' said Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.). 'And at what point is he gonna decide if you're from a Republican state you get to keep some of this funding but if you're a Democrat from a blue state, you don't? That's not how this should work.' Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), a Trump ally, said the administration is coming to terms with the challenge of clawing back obligated funds appropriated in laws passed by Congress. 'What they are probably finding is it's not as easy as you might think to take a scalpel at a law that has passed,' Cramer said. 'He [Trump] throws this stuff out and sees where it lands and it's already working itself through.' Zack Colman contributed to this report.
Politico
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Politico
EPA funds still frozen despite agency memo, lawmakers' pressure
Funding for several key Environmental Protection Agency programs remained on hold Wednesday despite an internal directive calling for agency staff to comply with a court ruling to disburse the money and intervention from lawmakers concerned about projects in their states and districts. An internal EPA memo issued Tuesday that was obtained by POLITICO directed agency officials to 'enable the obligation' of funds under the bipartisan infrastructure law and Inflation Reduction Act that had been paused by the Trump administration since it took office. The EPA memo cited a ruling by a federal judge on Monday that barred agencies from enforcing any remaining elements of the administration's spending freeze. However, EPA has not issued information on which of the programs funded by the two laws have been unfrozen, sparking confusion among award recipients and on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers from both parties are pushing the administration to allow the money to flow to particular programs. EPA declined to comment for this story, citing the pending litigation. 'It's hard to tell what is incompetence and what is confusion and what is basically contemptuous trickery,' said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee. 'But it does seem that they say one thing, and then the funds don't move.' EPW Chair Shelley Moore Capito ( has been in contact with EPA in a bid to get funds released, she and other lawmakers said. Awards under EPA's brownfields remediation program, which was funded by the infrastructure law, were flowing again on Wednesday after Capito and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) intervened, the two lawmakers said in a hearing. Most of the programs that EPA initially targeted to be unfrozen were from the infrastructure law, POLITICO previously reported. But the internet portal to access funds from EPA's $5 billion Clean School Bus program, which was created by the infrastructure law, remained inaccessible on Wednesday, according to two recipients. Chris Kilbride, the superintendent of the Ritenour School District outside St. Louis, Missouri, told POLITICO the district was unable access the EPA funds it was planning to draw down this week to pay for 21 new electric buses, all of which are built and ready to be delivered. 'Our grant is still frozen,' Kilbride said. 'We've got our CFO checking three times a day on the portal.' The district also received a $830,000 bill this week for EV charging stations it installed for the buses — costs that are meant to be funded by the program. It is working with its contractor to delay payment until it gets clarity on the federal funds. 'We're committed to not using local tax dollars to make this happen,' Kilbride said. Neither Kilbride nor Rep. Wesley Bell , a Democrat who represents the district, have been able to get information from EPA on if or when the grant will be unfrozen. 'There's no guidance — I'm a congressman, and we're scrambling to figure out what the administration is trying to do,' Bell said. 'We should not be wondering if a school district can buy school buses that are ready and waiting for it.' Capito said she had also discussed the Clean Bus Program with people in the Trump administration after GreenPower, a bus manufacturer in her state that has received orders funded by the program, told her it is 'concerned' about losing funding. 'We are trying to help them work through it to figure out what the status is,' Capito said. One person who works with state governments on climate policies said on Wednesday all the IRA money was frozen, including the $7 billion Solar for All program and the $5 billion climate pollution reduction grants programs. Another official with a state energy office also told POLITICO on Wednesday that it still could not access EPA climate funds despite the new agency memo. Whitehouse accused EPA of purposefully creating a 'fog bank of confusion and uncertainty and uncommunicativeness' around the status of the funds. He praised Capito for her effort 'to work through individual jams of Republican and Democratic members' by flagging issues to the Trump administration, but said those interactions have not led 'all the way to money flowing.' Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, the top Democrat on the Energy Committee, said he had seen some 'surprising and positive' progress on unfreezing funding for his state, but money for some other programs was still held up. 'It's chaos, and that's the point,' Heinrich told POLITICO Wednesday. Energy Committee staff members familiar with the situation had previously told POLITICO that recipients of money from the Interior Department's Bureau of Reclamation had informed the committee that their awards for several projects funded under the IRA and infrastructure law were on hold. Those included projects enhancing drought resilience, erosion mitigation and sediment removal. Other Democrats said they are fearful the Trump administration could start unlocking funding for Republican-led states, but not theirs. 'At what point is he [Trump] going to start picking winners and losers?' said Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.). 'And at what point is he gonna decide if you're from a Republican state you get to keep some of this funding but if you're a Democrat from a blue state, you don't? That's not how this should work.' Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), a Trump ally, said the administration is coming to terms with the challenge of clawing back obligated funds appropriated in laws passed by Congress. 'What they are probably finding is it's not as easy as you might think to take a scalpel at a law that has passed,' Cramer said. 'He [Trump] throws this stuff out and sees where it lands and it's already working itself through.' Zack Colman contributed to this report.
