Tuesday, April 20, 2021
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The Honorable Jimmy Panetta
U.S. House of Representatives
406 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative Panetta,
On behalf of America’s public transportation industry, which directly employs more than 435,000 workers and supports millions of private-sector jobs, I write in strong support of H.R. 583, the “Green Bus Tax Credit Act of 2021”. This bill provides a manufacturer tax credit to address the up-front costs of electric and hydrogen fuel-cell buses and will help enable public transit agencies continue to lead the way in the transition to zero-emission vehicles.
As we have identified in APTA’s Recommendations on Surface Transportation Law, we urge Congress to provide significantly increased funding to the Buses and Bus Facilities program, including Low or No Emission bus grants, to support replacing old buses and transitioning to zero-emission fleets. As it stands, bus competitive grant programs are vastly oversubscribed, and the tax credit provided in H.R. 583 will be a great benefit to encourage the adoption of these zero-emission technologies. During consideration of the bill and to further facilitate adoption of zero-emission transit vehicles, we urge you to increase the tax credit to 30 percent and expand the eligibility to include trolleybuses and paratransit vehicles.
We greatly appreciate your leadership on this issue, and we look forward to working together ensure that more Americans enjoy the many long-term benefits of zero-emission buses in their communities.
Sincerely,
Paul P. Skoutelas
President and CEO
cc: The Honorable Richard E. Neal, Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives
The Honorable Kevin Brady, Ranking Member, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives
The Honorable Mike Thompson, Chairman, Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives
The Honorable Adrian Smith, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives
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The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is a nonprofit international association of 1,500 public and private sector organizations which represent a $71 billion industry that directly employs 430,000 people and supports millions of private sector jobs. APTA members are engaged in the areas of bus, paratransit, light rail, commuter rail, subways, waterborne services, and intercity and high-speed passenger rail. This includes: transit systems; planning, design, construction, and finance firms; product and service providers; academic institutions; transit associations and state departments of transportation. APTA is the only association in North America that represents all modes of public transportation. APTA members serve the public interest by providing safe, efficient and economical transit services and products.