Washington (AP)-In a larger reversal, the modern head of the environmental protection authority said that he would try to attribute the grants granted by the bid administration for climate and cleaning projects of $ 20 billion.
In a video published on X, Administrator Lee Zeldin said that the EPA would revoke contracts for a still occurring “Green Bank” that is intended to finance tens of thousands of projects to combat climate change and to promote environmental justice.
The program, approved according to the law of 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, is officially referred to as Treenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, but is more often referred to as Green Bank. Two initiatives worth 14 billion US dollars or 6 billion US dollars are intended to offer non -profit organizations, community development banks and other groups for projects with a focus on disadvantaged municipalities.
The program is a favorite of Democrats, who have passed the signature law of President Joe Biden without a single Republican vote, and the former EPA administrator Michael Regan often cited it as one of his most significant achievements.
The Republicans in the congress have referred to the Green Bank as “Slush Fund” and worried about how the money is used and whether there will be sufficient accountability and transparency. Last year, the Republican -controlled house approved a legislative template for the cancellation of the Green Bank and other parts of the BIDEN climate agenda. The draft law was blocked in the democratically controlled Senate.
In the video that was released on Wednesday evening, Zeldin said that the EPA would “no tolerance to waste and abuse” under its administration. He quoted “an extremely worrying video” on X, which contains a former EPA employee, who said that the Biden administration “Goldbars von der Titanic” had thrown billions of taxpayers before President Donald Trump started.
“The days of the irresponsible shovel boat loading of cash to far left activist groups on behalf of environmental justice and the climate should be over,” said Zeldin. “I instructed my team to find their golden bars and they found them. Now we will bring you back to the government’s control while we are following the next steps. “
The video that Zeldin cited was published by Project Veritas, a right -wing organization that often uses hidden cameras to try to embarrass messages, work organizations and democratic civil servants. In this case, the Veritas video Brent Efron, a former special assistant to the Associate Administrator of the EPA for guidelines, showed that in a bar or restaurant spoke to someone who turned out to be in the group. Efron has left the EPA since then.
Clean Energy Advocates condemned Zeldins as a political stunt and said he tried illegally to revoke the expenditure approved by the congress for party political reasons. They promised to question the directive in court.
“This is not just an attack on Clean Energy Investments – it is an obvious violation of the constitution” Slash programs that should support American families finance tax cuts for billionaires. “
The money has already been awarded to eight non -profit organizations, including the coalition for Green Capital, Climate United, Power Forward Communities, Opportunity Finance Network, including and The Justice Climate Fund. These organizations have teamed up with a number of groups, including the modern wiring of America, Habitat for Humanity and the Community Preservation Corporation.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris announced the Grant Awards last year at an event in Charlotte, North Carolina.
