A subscriber submitted a request to investigate the claim that newly appointed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin could rescind $20 billion in green energy grants awarded during the Biden administration. The claim, which appeared in a widely circulated AP News article, has sparked debate over whether the EPA has the authority to take back funds that Congress already approved.
What the Article Gets Wrong
The article suggests that the EPA can unilaterally revoke these grants based on a policy shift. However, legally speaking, once Congress has authorized and appropriated money for a program, an agency cannot simply claw back those funds unless there is a legal mechanism allowing them to do so. The original article does not clarify that funding for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (commonly called the “green bank”) was specifically appropriated under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, and reversing those allocations would likely require either congressional action or successful litigation.
Legal Complications of Revoking the Funds
The article references a Project Veritas video in which a former EPA staffer claims that the previous administration was trying to spend funds before the new administration took office. However, this does not equate to evidence of wrongdoing or mismanagement, as government agencies frequently accelerate spending before leadership changes to ensure continuity. The article does not include any independent clarification of whether funds were misused, making the claim misleading.
Legal experts have already weighed in, cautioning that rescinding the grants is not as simple as the EPA making a political decision to do so. Challenges in court are almost certain, and historical precedent suggests that once funds are awarded and contracted, revoking them is extremely difficult.
Final Verdict
The claim that the Trump administration’s EPA can easily revoke $20 billion in green grants is misleading. The article omits details about congressional authorization and the extensive legal hurdles required to take back funds that have already been granted. While the new EPA leadership may attempt to slow down or obstruct deployment of these funds, outright revocation would require a legal battle that is far from guaranteed to succeed.
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