Until a recent and surprising ruling from a federal appeals court. It gives the Biden administration a continued stay of implementation over more than $20 billion in climate change-related competitive grants created in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. This latest ruling overturns an earlier injunction that sought to block this funding. This funding has been a controversial matter ever since the Trump administration tried to take it back.
The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden, represents the most significant investment in climate initiatives in U.S. history. The act allocated substantial resources to various entities to support environmental projects and initiatives. Eight national and local organizations were awarded a chunk of this funding. Now they have the authority to pass through all those funds to NGOs and other beneficiaries.
The controversy surrounding these grants intensified when Lee Zeldin, a Trump appointee and former congressman, publicly condemned the funding as an example of government waste. Zeldin, who was selected by Trump to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), asserted that “shockingly, roughly $20bn of your tax dollars were parked at an outside financial institution by the Biden EPA.” He expressed further concern regarding the allocation of these funds, stating that “this pot of $20bn was awarded to just eight entities that were then responsible for doling out your money to NGOs and others at their discretion.”
Zeldin’s maxims were uttered in the larger context of a national reckoning on fiscal discipline and bloated government outlays. He declared that “the days of irresponsibly shovelling boatloads of cash to far-left activist groups in the name of environmental justice and climate equity are over.”
Cornelia Pillard, the Obama appointee Judge Cornelia Pillard was prompted to act in response to Zeldin’s efforts. She subsequently granted a preliminary injunction that kept the Trump-led EPA from rescinding those $20 billion in grants. Judge Pillard stressed that the court was met with no credible evidence from the Trump administration. She further pointed out that there was simply no logical explanation to support its effort to undermine the funding Congress had allocated.
“Without presenting to any court any credible evidence or coherent reason that could justify its interference with plaintiffs’ money and its sabotage of Congress’s law.” – Cornelia Pillard
Judge Neomi Rao, another Trump appointee, wrote the recent appeals court opinion. In ending this attempt to withdraw these federal grants, the court found that the administration acted illegally. This important ruling reversed a lower court decision that had put a temporary stop to any clawback of funds by the Trump administration. The lawsuit was filed by five of the eight nonprofits that had been awarded funds under the Inflation Reduction Act.
Judge Pillard only ordered Citibank to release the funds no later than April 15. Congress needs to hear from all of us, loud and clear – this ruling underscores that these grants need to stay untouched! Climate United Fund, one of the plaintiffs affected by this ruling, re-iterated its commitment to strong climate policy. They claim that the Trump administration illegally attempted to freeze and ultimately kill these funds.
Climate United Fund board member Beth Bafford highlighted that disappointment in the panel decision. She continued to feel hopeful about how solid their arguments were. She stated, “While we are disappointed by the panel’s decision, we stand firm on the merits of our case: EPA unlawfully froze and terminated funds that were legally obligated and disbursed.”
