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Meng, Nadler, and Matsui Secure $30 Million to Upgrade Nation's Old Diesel Engines

February 23, 2015

Funding will help improve nation’s air quality by reducing dangerous diesel emissions. Lawmakers save program from elimination–States and cities such as NYS & NYC eligible to apply

U.S. Reps. Grace Meng (D-NY), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Doris Matsui (D-CA) announced today that they have secured $30 million to upgrade the nation's fleet of old diesel engines – including those used daily in locomotives and school buses – in order to reduce the dangerous emissions that they generate.
The funds, known as Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) grants, will improve the country's air quality by replacing or retrofitting outdated diesel engines with new cleaner technology that emit less diesel fumes. The money will made available by the federal government and state and local governments such as New York and New York City can apply for the funding.
"This money is great news for the environment and our fight for cleaner air," said Meng. "The funds will help reduce air pollution and modernize antiquated diesel engines. Fewer Americans will be forced to breathe in the harmful emissions that contribute to asthma and other health problems. I look forward to our country benefiting from cleaner diesel engines."
"The $30 million appropriated toward DERA is a very important for upgrading outdated diesel engines and improving our local environment," said Nadler. "In communities across the country including my own Congressional district in Brooklyn and Manhattan many diesel engines are decades old and can be found in our school buses and locomotives, which run almost every day. Taking advantage of cleaner technologies will improve our air quality and reduce the disastrous consequences of the pollution unnecessarily created by antiquated diesel engines."
"Securing $30 million to upgrade the nation's fleet of old diesel engines will move our country forward in protecting human health, the environment, and vulnerable communities," said Matsui. "Emissions from diesel exhaust can lead to serious health conditions like asthma and allergies, exacerbate heart and lung disease, as well as damage plants, animals, crops, and water resources. This funding is an important investment in clean technology that will help all Americans breathe cleaner and safer air."
Funding for the DERA grants was included in appropriations legislation signed into law by President Obama after Meng, Nadler and Matsui called for the money to be allocated. The three lawmakers – joined by 36 other Members of Congress – made the request in a letter they sent in April to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment and related Agencies, the panel that determines funding levels for environmental programs. The DERA grant program has been supported by the American Lung Association, New York Public Interest Research Group and a broad coalition of manufacturers.
The money prevented the program from being zeroed out as proposed in the President's FY2015 Budget, and it's $10 million more than the amount Meng, Nadler and Matsui secured last year.