The Environmental Protection Agency is terminating $20 billion in grants awarded by the Biden administration for climate and clean-energy projects, Administrator Lee Zeldin announced Tuesday.
In a video posted to X, Zeldin said $20 billion in U.S. tax dollars were “parked at an outside financial institution in a deliberate effort to limit government oversight, doling out your money through just eight pass-through, politically connected, unqualified, and in some cases brand-new NGOs.”
The money has since been frozen, he said, noting that the Department of Justice and FBI are investigating.
The program, approved by Congress under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, was formerly known as the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund but is more commonly referred to as the green bank. Two initiatives, worth $14 billion and $6 billion, respectively, aimed to offer grants to nonprofits, community development banks and other groups for projects focusing on disadvantaged communities.
The eight nonprofits that were awarded the money included the Coalition for Green Capital, Climate United Fund, Power Forward Communities, Opportunity Finance Network, Inclusiv and the Justice Climate Fund. These organizations have partnered with various groups, including Rewiring America, Habitat for Humanity and the Community Preservation Corporation.
The EPA “just notified 8 recipients of $20 BILLION in Biden EPA ‘gold bars’ that their grants have been TERMINATED!” Zeldin wrote on X.
In his video, Zeldin cited reports that Power Forward Communities, a group linked to Democrat Stacey Abrams, received $2 billion after reporting just $100 in total revenue the year before.
He also said the founding director of the EPA’s program allocated $5 billion to his former employer after working on the legislation that created the program from his role in the White House.
“These two examples have only been the tip of the iceberg,” Zeldin said. “I’m here to report back to the American people that, as of today, I have officially terminated these grant agreements entirely. Not only does the EPA have full authority to take this action, but frankly, we were left with no other option.”
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“This termination is based on substantial concerns regarding program integrity, objections to the award process, programmatic fraud, waste and abuse and misalignment with the agency’s priorities, which collectively undermine the fundamental goals and statutory objectives of the awards,” he continued.
Zeldin said the “only way” to reduce waste, increase oversight and meet the intent of the law as it was written is by terminating the grants. He said it is his “unwavering commitment” to President Donald Trump, Congress and the American people.
“The EPA will once again be an exceptional steward of your tax dollars. I will have it no other way,” Zeldin said.
