ICYMI: E&E News, Republicans covet EPA money they rail against

Washington, D.C. — Today, E&E News reported that more than a dozen Republican lawmakers have requested Inflation Reduction Act grants from the EPA for local programs – despite ongoing GOP efforts to gut clean energy and climate investments to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. 

E&E News: Republicans covet EPA money they rail against

Republicans who relentlessly criticized Biden-era spending on climate programs at the same time have been asking EPA to make sure their states and districts get a slice of the pie.

In recent letters to the agency obtained by POLITICO’s E&E News, more than a dozen Republican lawmakers have sought grants for local programs made possible by the landmark climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act.

Such efforts fly in the face of the GOP’s efforts to roll back spending on climate and clean energy. On his first day back in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order revoking environmental justice initiatives that focused on addressing a legacy of pollution affecting people of color and the poor.

On Capitol Hill, Republicans applauded Trump’s sweeping funding freeze and plotted to take back unspent dollars to help offset tax cuts.

And this week, EPA administrator Lee Zeldin posted “HUGE NEWS” on social media. He said that “EPA located BILLIONS of dollars worth” of “gold bars” the Biden administration “threw off the Titanic,” referring to money being rushed out before Trump took over.

The letters, obtained via the Freedom of Information Act, show Republicans were interested in securing funding for a host of climate-related projects in the Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants Program.

In December, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the current chair of the Senate Budget Committee, wrote to then-EPA Administrator Michael Regan. He said a nonprofit in his home state had submitted a proposal for programs to subsidize the costs of rides and benefit electric vehicle ride shares.

“I ask that you give their proposal full consideration under all appropriate guidelines and regulations,” Graham wrote.

A review of the letters revealed that the GOP lawmakers urged Regan to prioritize specific projects to plant trees and erect shade structures, install air quality monitors near low-income schools, replace water treatment plants, give money to tribes and build other climate resilience projects.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) requested funding for the River City resiliency project in Mason City, Iowa. Sens. Cynthia Lummis and John Barrasso — both of Wyoming — asked for an environmental justice grant on behalf of the North Arapaho Tribe.

Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) looked to bolster a project to address Evansville’s “poor air quality” and “lack of clean transportation.”

Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) sent similar letters.

And in the House, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Rep. Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas) and former Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.) urged the agency to award $20 million for “climate resilience,” “green villages” and a microtransit program.

All of the funding came from the IRA, which no Republican voted for. It is not uncommon for lawmakers to request federal funds for their districts or show up to ribbon cuttings for projects bankrolled by legislation they opposed.

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The flurry of Republican requests on nuts-and-bolts environmental matters illustrates how difficult it could be for GOP members to get on the same page to repeal climate or infrastructure law funding through party-line reconciliation bill that they are hoping to advance.