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Texas Will Reallocate Volkswagen Settlement Funds to Increase Funding to Austin, Houston and Dallas

Nov. 16, 2018

Texas Will Reallocate Volkswagen Settlement Funds to Increase Funding to Austin, Houston and Dallas

Statement of Adrian Shelley, Director, Public Citizen’s Texas Office

Note: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced today that money received through the Volkswagen vehicle emissions settlement will be reallocated across impacted areas of the state. Under the new proposal, Austin will receive nearly $16.3 million in funding – up from zero – and Houston and Dallas will see their funding increase.

Gov. Greg Abbott responded to public feedback and allocated Volkswagen funds more fairly across Texas. Austin residents purchased more polluting Volkswagens per capita than anywhere else in the state. Now Austin has an opportunity to use VW funds to bring clean transportation options such as electric buses and EV charging infrastructure to the city. Our state’s ozone nonattainment areas – Houston, Dallas and San Antonio – all have funding to purchase cleaner vehicles and help reduce transportation pollution and improve public health.

We appreciate Abbott’s efforts to make this money work for Texas. With this and other programs to reduce pollution from vehicles, we have a clean, bright future for transportation in Texas.

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Public Citizen is a national, nonprofit consumer advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., with an office in Austin, Texas.