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2024 Service to America Medals® finalists put major federal investments into action

This year, two finalists for the Partnership for Public Service’s 23rd annual Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals® program demonstrated innovative strategies for implementing large-scale federal legislation. 

Recognizing these honorees builds on the Partnership’s Major Investments program, which aims to identify and document promising practices for equitably and efficiently distributing federal funds to communities across America.  

The program, featuring a Major Investments Learning Community, was launched in response to the spate of major federal investments made in recent years through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, the American Rescue Plan Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.  

The Clean School Bus Team: Promising practices for equity   

At the Environmental Protection Agency, Karl Simon, Christine Koester, Matthew Lakin and the Clean School Bus Team led the implementation of a $5 billion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law program designed to help communities replace heavily polluting diesel school buses with more sustainable options. Within just two years, the team completed three funding rounds that subsidized and delivered nearly 5,000 new clean school buses to local districts.

The first funding round served about 400 districts nationwide, with almost 95% of the new buses delivered to historically underserved districts in rural, low-income and tribal communities, a testament to the team’s emphasis on equity.  

To hit this target, the team focused on:  

1. Lowering barriers: Applying for federal grants can be complex, deterring school districts with fewer resources from attempting to access federal funds. To improve this situation, the Clean School Bus Team deployed a simple, unified and easy-to-navigate online application portal. The program also disbursed funds through a rebate structure that reimbursed districts for their spending to avoid the burdensome monitoring and reporting requirements of a typical grant program.  

2. Targeted outreach: The Clean School Bus Team set the goal of receiving an application from every state and started “pounding the pavement” to make sure communities in need were aware of the program. The team hosted webinars and in-person events, made widespread phone calls, and set and monitored intermediate participation goals.  

Mike Schmidt and the CHIPS Program Team: Promising practices for efficiency 

Passed in 2022, the CHIPS and Science Act designated $39 billion to increase semiconductor manufacturing in the United States. Semiconductors, better known as chips, are used in almost anything with an on/off switch, including mobile phones, computers, televisions, cameras and even light switches.

Mike Schmidt and the CHIPS Program Team implemented the multibillion-dollar CHIPS Incentives Program from scratch, quickly assembling a team of cross-industry experts to achieve success. Schmidt’s key strategies included:  

1. Building a talented team: Almost immediately after the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act, Schmidt began recruiting experts in semiconductors, investment analysis, financial structuring, national security, workforce and large-scale government implementation. In under a year, the team grew to more than 100 employees.  

2. Fostering relationships with stakeholders: Schmidt cultivated trust and collaborations with the private sector, which plays a crucial role in manufacturing semiconductors. These existing connections proved critical when building his team and creating implementation plans.  

Schmidt’s work has paid off. As of May 2024, the CHIPS Program Team had announced seven deals totaling more than $29 billion to incentivize new microchip manufacturing in the U.S. 

Recognizing important work 

These promising practices from the Clean School Bus and CHIPS Program teams not only provide insight into critical elements of implementing major investments, but also highlight the important work that our Sammies nominees do to bring the resources of government to bear on the day-to-day problems facing the public.  

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