[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 17 (Thursday, January 26, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H347-H348]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1115
                           NEW IRAN SANCTIONS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Porter) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. PORTER. In Iran, a dangerous regime is harming its people, 
stripping them of their rights, and spreading lies to cover it up.
  The world must know where we stand.
  The Biden administration is leading the way, and I strongly support 
their newly announced sanctions on some of the world's worst human 
rights abusers.
  These offenders are top-ranking officials in the Islamic 
Revolutionary Guard Corps, the regime's right hand in repression. 
Sanctions also target the IRGC's business enterprise, which has been 
funding the regime's brutality for decades.
  The U.S.' leadership was mimicked by the United Kingdom and European 
Union. I applaud this unified response from our allies. It is a clear 
rejection of Iran's violence and a demand for the Iranian people to be 
heard.
  The struggles continue, and we must all remember that ``Woman, Life, 
Freedom'' is not just a chant. It is a call to action.


                        Clean School Bus Program

  Ms. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak up for California's 
children, our communities, and our environment.
  The vast majority of American schoolbuses run on diesel, a major 
source of pollution that contributes to the climate crisis. As a 
result, bus emissions worsen our air quality with significant harm 
around schools, in residential areas, and within the passenger cabin. 
This is a serious problem for our environment and our children's 
health.
  The bipartisan infrastructure law that I supported invests in a 
solution. The Clean School Bus program funds $5 billion for the 
purchase of electric schoolbuses, improving the air for our kids and 
our communities.
  Electric buses also improve discipline, reduce noise pollution, and 
give schools budget certainty. They can save school districts up to 80 
percent on the cost of fuel, maintenance, and repairs.
  However, the Clean School Bus program unfairly targets California. 
Even though our State has nearly 13 percent of schoolchildren and the 
second lowest busing rate in the country, ahead only of Mississippi, 
the law unfairly imposes a 10 percent State cap on the funds.
  Even worse, to date, California has only gotten 7.33 percent of the 
Clean School Bus program funds. Our State leads the Nation in 
transitioning to electric vehicles and reducing emissions. We need our 
Federal Government to be a partner in these efforts. California wants 
to invest in clean buses to take children to school to learn and to 
grow, but we cannot do it alone.
  If America is to be the global leader in transitioning to a clean 
energy economy, we need to give every State, including California, 
their fair share of financial support.
  The $69.5 million already invested in the Clean School Bus program in 
California provides some necessary help, but it is not nearly enough to 
support our densely populated working-class communities, some of which 
have the worst air quality in the Nation.
  I have seen firsthand the tremendous interest in the Clean School Bus 
program when my office hosted grant workshops with school districts and 
Tribal communities to share information about these Federal resources 
for acquiring low- and zero-emission schoolbuses. To meet this moment, 
we need a coordinated effort from Federal, State, and local entities to 
make the change.
  California needs a leader who will fight to remove unfair roadblocks, 
such

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as arbitrary State caps that limit investment in clean technology. I 
will continue to push for a level playing field for California that 
invests our Federal tax dollars where the need is greatest and where 
they can do the most good.

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