1

Table of Contents

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

II. THE EPA’S ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE PROGRAMS

A. What Is Environmental Justice?
1. Background
2. Definition
B. Environmental Justice at the EPA Under the Biden Administration
1. Background
2. The Inflation Reduction Act
3. Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights
C. Major Environmental Justice Programs

III. RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH EPA ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE GRANTS

A. Funding Increases and Compressed Timeframes
B. The Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights
C. Use of the Pass-Through Model

IV. ALARMING AWARDS DECISIONS

A. Policy Agendas
1. Energy Resources Bias
2. Anti-Liquified Natural Gas Activism
3. Anti-Offshore Oil and Gas Activity
4. The Push to Ban Gas Stoves
5. The Forced Transition to Electric Vehicles
B. Policy and Political Advocacy
1. Exerting Political Influence
2. Election Involvement
C. Political Bias
1. Anti-Republican Sentiment
2. Progressive Ideology
3. Green New Deal Support
D. Recipient and Partner Ties to Powerful Organizations
1. “Grassroots” Funding Trend
2. Ties to Larger Organizations
3. One Example: The Windward Fund
4. Non-Federal Funding

V. CONCLUSION

2
I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Since its first day in office, the Biden-Harris administration has made clear its mission to

force the United States to transition rapidly to “clean” energy.1 This radical rush-to-green agenda,

which relies upon supply chains dominated by the Chinese Communist Party, will not only have

consequences for American national security but drive affordable and reliable sources of

energy—including oil, gas, and coal—out of existence. 2 This agenda impacts every aspect of life

in America, while expending unprecedented sums of hard-earned taxpayer money.

Whether flipping on the light switch in a classroom, powering an MRI machine in a

hospital, or operating a company’s computer network, the United States relies upon an all-of-the-

above mix of energy—including traditional sources, like fossil fuels—to accomplish everything

from the routine to the extraordinary. A forced transition to politically favored resources while

limiting the production and use of energy resources that currently supply the majority of national

energy use will have devastating consequences for American families and businesses.3 The

administration’s drive to curtail the use of certain domestic energy resources has driven up the

cost of energy—and consequently, everything else. 4

More than two years ago, congressional Democrats and the Biden-Harris administration

passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)5 to help fund their energy agenda. The Environmental

1
See, e.g., THE WHITE HOUSE, The Biden-Harris Administration Immediate Priorities,
https://www.whitehouse.gov/priorities/ (last visited Oct. 15, 2024).
2
See, e.g, Exposing the Environmental, Human, Rights, and National Security Risks of the Biden Administration’s
Rush to Green Policies: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Envt., Mfg., and Critical Materials of the H. Comm. on
Energy and Commerce, 118th (2023) (public hearing memo), available at
https://d1dth6e84htgma.cloudfront.net/04_26_23_Subcommittee_on_Environment_Manufacturing_and_Critical_M
aterials_Memo_1_bfbeae6f67.pdf?updated_at=2023-04-25T16:04:07.613Z.
3
See, e.g., From Gas to Groceries: Americans Pay the Price of the Biden-Harris Energy Agenda, Hearing Before the
Subcomm. on Energy, Climate, and Grid Sec. of the H. Comm. on Energy and Commerce, 118 th Cong. (2024)
(statement of Travis Fisher, Director, Energy and Environmental Policy Studies, Cato Institute).
4
Id. (statement of Travis Fisher, Director, Energy and Environmental Policy Studies, Cato Institute)
5
Pub. L. No. 117-169.

3
Protection Agency (EPA) alone received $41 billion through this legislation.4 For comparison,

the EPA’s 2023 budget was $10.1 billion.6

Source: Congressional Research Service7

This massive spending legislation included $3 billion for environmental and climate

justice block grants.8 While the EPA had administered much smaller environmental justice

programs previously, the Biden-Harris administration’s focus on promoting environmental

justice,9 coupled with a huge funding surge—and a new office to administer the programs—

would become a critical tool to impose the administration’s rush-to-green energy and

environmental policies.

Many, including Members of the Committee, have elevated the concerning aspects of

these programs, such as the EPA’s delegation of its responsibility to distribute funding to a few

chosen organizations, the vague or open-ended descriptions of activities these programs could

fund, and the difficulties a new Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights

6
ENVTL. PROT. AGENCY, FY 2025 EPA BUDGET IN BRIEF 29 (2024).
7
CONG. RESEARCH SERV. 1, US. ENVTL. PROT. AGENCY FY2024 (2024).
8
§ 60201.
9
See, e.g., THE WHITE HOUSE, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, https://www.whitehouse.gov/environmentaljustice/ (last
visited Oct. 15, 2024).

4
(OEJECR) would face in overseeing an unprecedented increase in funding.10 Concerns about this

program intensified as the EPA began to announce winners of the funding competitions, or

“selectees.”11

The lists of organizations selected to receive funding or partner with those organizations

include environmental activist organizations that work to influence public and elected officials to

adopt their often-extreme views, such as completely eliminating the use of fossil fuels, which

Americans recognize are an important part of an all-of-the-above energy mix. While some

selected organizations include other types of entities such as institutes of high education, many

are special interest environmental nonprofit organizations.12 These organizations’ views and

missions often align with those of the administration, in effect using taxpayer dollars to promote

the Biden-Harris radical energy agenda.

While organizations must use these grants for specified purposes, the acceptable uses of

funding are broad enough to include activities such as “public outreach” or “public education.”13

The IRA’s language also permits grant recipients to use awards for “facilitating engagement of

disadvantaged communities in State and Federal advisory groups, workshops, rulemakings, and

10
Letter from Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Chair, H Comm. on Energy and Commerce, et al., to Michael Regan,
Adm’r, Envtl. Prot. Agency (Mar. 28, 2023) [hereinafter March 2023 Committee Letter]; Letter from Cathy
McMorris Rodgers, Chair, H. Comm. on Energy and Commerce, and Buddy Carter, Chair, Subcomm. on Env’t,
Mfg., and Critical Materials, to Michael Regan, Adm’r, Envtl. Prot. Agency (May 8, 2024) [hereinafter May 2024
Committee Letter].
11
This report will refer to organizations selected to receive funding as “selectees,” as not all award agreements may
have been finalized, and the EPA may not have obligated funding, at the time of this report.
12
E.g., Envtl. Prot. Agency, 2023 Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program Selectees,
https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023-12/2023-environmental-justice-thriving-communities-
grantmaking-program-selectees.pdf [hereinafter EPA 2023 EJTCGM Selectees List] (last visited Oct. 15, 2024)
(listing various types of organizations designated as grantmakers).
13
Envtl. Prot. Agency, Office of Envtl. Justice and External Civil Rights, Environmental Justice Collaborative
Problem-Solving (EJCPS) Cooperative Agreement Program: Requests for Applications 9 (Jan. 10, 2023),
https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023-
02/EJCPS%20Amended%20Request%20for%20Applications%20February%202023.pdf [hereinafter EJCPS RFA];
Envtl. Prot. Agency, Office of Envtl. Justice and External Civil Rights, Environmental Justice Thriving
Communities Grantmaking Program (EJ TCGM): Request for Applications (RFA) Amendment 11 (May 19, 2023),
https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023-05/EJTCGM%20RFA%20Extension%20May%202023.pdf
[hereinafter EJTCGM RFA].

5
other public processes.”14 Simply put,

the EPA is awarding taxpayer dollars to

special interest groups committed to a

radical energy agenda to “educate”

others and drive public outreach, as well

as assist those it engages with to

influence government policymaking and

outcomes. One might consider it akin to

a taxpayer-funded lobbying operation.

Given these organizations’ existing

efforts to sway public opinion, they may use these awards to attempt to indoctrinate members of

the communities in which they conduct outreach. They also have the opportunity to encourage

community members to echo and advocate for these organizations’ desired policy outcomes.

As the IRA and the EPA’s funding announcements state that these awards will go to

“community-based nonprofit organizations,”15 Americans may expect selectees to be small, local

organizations with limited resources. Some selectees may meet this description. However, many

selectees and partners already receive substantial amounts of funding from massive green groups

and environmental advocacy organizations.

The Biden-Harris administration is seemingly using environmental justice grants to

funnel public funds towards organizations that promote its policies and galvanize political

support for its actions. Enriching nonprofit organizations to spread radical, left-leaning ideology

14
Pub. L. No. 117-169 § 60201.
15
Id.; e.g., EJTCGM RFA, supra note 13, at 4-5.

6
is an inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars. These programs demand rigorous scrutiny and

meticulous oversight.

Throughout the 118th Congress, the Committee has worked to hold the Biden-Harris

administration accountable for its spending decisions concerning environmental justice grants.

Members demanded answers from the administration through a myriad of oversight letters16 and

convened public hearings to analyze the risks more closely.17 As increasingly concerning details

and questionable funding decisions emerged, Committee staff uncovered more information on

grant selectees. Using publicly available resources, such as selectee websites and tax documents,

Committee staff discovered countless examples of public facing activism that supports the same

views espoused by the Biden-Harris administration. Staff prepared this report to expose existing

problems with the environmental justice grant regime, further emphasize the need for continued

oversight efforts, and inform Americans about organizations receiving their tax dollars.

II. THE EPA’S ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE PROGRAMS

A. What Is Environmental Justice?

1. Background

While a generally applied, cross-cutting definition of the term “environmental justice”

does not exist in federal statute, this term often refers to what some environmental activists

espouse to be the perceived disproportionate impacts of environmental pollution across certain

16
March 2023 Committee Letter, supra note 10; May 2024 Committee Letter, supra note 10.
17
The Fiscal Year 2025 Environmental Protection Agency Budget: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Envt., Mfg., &
Critical Materials of the H. Comm. on Energy and Commerce, 118th Cong. (2024); Follow the Money: Oversight of
President Biden’s Massive Spending Spree: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Oversight and Investigations of the H.
Comm. on Energy and Commerce, 118th Cong. (2024) [hereinafter E&C Spending Oversight Hearing] (statement of
Sean O’Donnell, Inspector Gen., Envtl. Prot. Agency).

7
populations or demographics.18 Others have also used this term in discussions about access to

natural resources and recreational activities.19 Some federal policymakers have grappled with

how to address these environmental justice concerns for decades.20

Three major executive orders (E.O.) have sought to guide federal agencies in addressing

environmental justice concerns through their activities and programs.21 On February 11, 1994,

President Clinton signed E.O. 12898, “Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in

Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations,”22 which dictated that each federal agency

make addressing environmental justice part of its mission by identifying and addressing

disproportionate health or environmental impacts on minority and low-income populations.23

President Biden issued sweeping “climate crisis” directives and expanded E.O. 12898 on

January 27, 2021, with E.O. 14008, “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.”24 It

established a White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council, a White House

Environmental Justice Advisory Council, the Justice40 Initiative, and specified particular actions

for certain federal agencies.25 Finally, President Biden also issued E.O. 14096, “Revitalizing Our

Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All,” on April 21, 2023.26 This E.O. directed

agencies to take steps to identify and address disproportionate health and environmental impacts

of federal activities on communities with environmental justice concerns and facilitate public

input in the federal decision-making process.27

18
ANGELA C. JONES, CONG. RESEARCH SERV., R47920, U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA)
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ACTIVITIES AND PROGRAMS 1 (2024).
19
Id.
20
JONES, supra note 18, at 1.
21
Id.
22
Exec. Order No. 12898, 59 Fed. Reg. 7629 (1994).
23
Id.
24
Exec. Order No. 14008, 89 Fed. Reg. 7619 (2021).
25
Id.
26
Exec. Order No. 14096, 88 Fed. Reg. 25251 (2023).
27
Id.

8
 2. Definition

Although, as noted above, there is no all-encompassing statutory definition of

environmental justice, the EPA utilizes the definition contained in E.O. 14096, which states:

(b) “Environmental justice” means the just treatment and meaningful involvement

of all people, regardless of income, race, color, national origin, Tribal affiliation,

or disability, in agency decision-making and other Federal activities that affect

human health and the environment so that people:

(i) are fully protected from disproportionate and adverse human health and

environmental effects (including risks) and hazards, including those related to

climate change, the cumulative impacts of environmental and other burdens, and

the legacy of racism or other structural or systemic barriers; and

(ii) have equitable access to a healthy, sustainable, and resilient environment in

which to live, play, work, learn, grow, worship, and engage in cultural and

subsistence practices.28

B. Environmental Justice at the EPA Under the Biden Administration

1. Background

EPA efforts to advance environmental justice goals and annual appropriations for EPA

environmental justice programming—particularly grants, technical assistance, and interagency

coordination—predate the Biden-Harris administration.29 Over the past few decades, the EPA has

established environmental justice grant programs, beginning with the Environmental Justice (EJ)

28
Id. (2023); ENVTL. PROT. AGENCY, Learn About Environmental Justice,
https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/learn-about-environmental-justice (last updated June. 11, 2024).
29
JONES, supra note 18, at 10; see, e.g., ENVTL. PROT. AGENCY, About EJ 2020,
https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/about-ej-2020#about (last updated July 10, 2024).

9
Small Grants Program in 1994.30 Prior to the passage of the IRA, annual regular appropriations

for environmental justice activities remained relatively steady over the last ten years.31

2. The Inflation Reduction Act

On August 16, 2022, President Biden signed the IRA into law.32 Section 60201 provided

$3 billion in funding for environmental and climate justice block grants. Specifically, the IRA

appropriated $2.8 billion, for grants, and $200 million for technical assistance related to such

grants.33 Both tranches of funding remain available until September 30, 2026. The IRA also

specified eligible activities under these grants: community-led air and pollution monitoring,

prevention, and remediation, and investments in technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emission

and other air pollutants; mitigating certain climate and health risks; climate resiliency and

adaptation; reducing indoor toxics and indoor air pollution; and facilitating engagement of

disadvantaged groups in public processes.34 Under the statute, “a community-based nonprofit

organization” is eligible for funding.35 Partnerships between community-based organizations, or

between a community-based organization and an Indian tribe, local government or state are also

eligible.36

30
JONES, supra note 18, at 12.
31
See id. at 10.
32
Pub. L. No. 117-169; Maegan Vazquez & Donald Judd, Biden Signs Inflation Reduction Act into Law, CNN, Aug.
16, 2022,https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/16/politics/biden-inflation-reduction-act-signing/index.html (quoting
President Biden celebrating passage).
33
§ 60201.
34
Id.
35
Id.
36
Id.

10
 3. Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights

On September 24, 2022, the EPA announced the creation of the new OEJECR to enforce

civil rights laws in overburdened communities; work with other EPA offices to incorporate

environmental justice concerns into their policies; and manage and disburse funding for grants

and technical assistance, including the IRA’s climate and environmental justice block grant

program.37 A Senate-confirmed Assistant Administrator, to be nominated at a later date, would

lead this office.38

C. Major Environmental Justice Programs

While not an exhaustive list of environmental justice programs, below is a brief summary

of some of the major ones:39

• Environmental Justice Community Change Grants Program (EJCCG Program):

Under this program, the EPA plans to award a total of $2 billion in IRA funds.40 This

37
Press Release, Envtl. Prot. Agency, EPA Launches New National Office Dedicated to Advancing Environmental
Justice and Civil Rights (Sept. 24, 2022), https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-launches-new-national-office-
dedicated-advancing-environmental-justice-and-civil.
38
Id.
39
Program and award statuses are current as of September 10, 2024.
40
ENVTL. PROT. AGENCY, Inflation Reduction Act, Community Change Grants Program,
https://www.epa.gov/inflation-reduction-act/inflation-reduction-act-community-change-grants-program (last updated
Oct. 15, 2024).

11
 program will support “comprehensive community and place-based approaches to

redressing environmental and climate injustices for communities facing legacy pollution,

climate change, and persistent disinvestment.”41 The EPA describes program objectives as

providing resources for community-driven environmental and climate change projects,

investing in cross-sectoral collaborations, facilitating access to additional resources to

pursue environmental and climate change goals, empowering communities to effectuate

change, and strengthening community participation in government decision-making

processes.42 Eligible recipients are a partnership between two community-based nonprofit

organizations or a partnership between a community-based nonprofit organization and a

Tribe, local government, or institution of higher education.43 On July 25, 2024, the EPA

announced that it had awarded over $325 million in funding to 21 applicants and that it

will continue to select more recipients for funding on a rolling basis.44

• Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement

Program (EJCPS Program): This program provides financial assistance to community-

based organizations to address local or environmental public health issues in those

communities and to assist them in building “collaborative partnerships” with other

stakeholders at the community level.45 The EPA intends for supported projects to

demonstrate the utility of the Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving

41
Envtl. Prot. Agency, Office of Envtl. Justice and External Civil Rights, Environmental and Climate Justice
Community Change Grants Program: Notice of Funding Opportunity 7 (Oct. 2, 2024).
42
Id.
43
Id at 29.
44
Press Release, Envtl. Prot. Agency, Biden-Harris Administration Announces More Than $325 Million in
Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants (July 25, 2024),
https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-announces-more-325-million-environmental-and-
climate.
45
ENVTL. PROT. AGENCY, The Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement
Program, https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/environmental-justice-collaborative-problem-solving-
cooperative-agreement-5 (last updated Nov. 27, 2023).

12
 Model.46 This program is funded through both annual appropriations and IRA

appropriations.47 Eligible projects should “engage, educate, and empower communities to

understand local environmental and public health issues and to identify ways to address

these issues at the local level.”48 On October 23, 2023, the EPA selected 98 recipients to

receive up to $500,000 each.49

• Environmental Justice Government-to-Government Program (EJG2G Program):

This program provides funding to states, localities, territories, and tribes for government

activities to address environmental or public health problems in communities

disproportionally impacted by environmental damage.50 On October 24, 2023, the EPA

announced it had selected 88 grant recipients to receive up to $1,000,000 each.51 The EPA

utilizes IRA and annual appropriations funding for this program.52

• Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program (EJTCG

Program): After creating the program through IRA funding, the EPA awarded $600

million to 11 Grantmakers under this program.53 These Grantmakers will serve as “pass-

through entities” to issue subawards to community-based nonprofit organizations and

46
Id.
47
EJCPS RFA, supra note 13, at 4.
48
Id. at 6.
49
Press Release, Envtl. Prot. Agency, Biden-Harris Administration Announces Nearly $128 Million for
Environmental Justice Projects in Communities Across the Country as Part of Investing in American Agenda (Oct.
24, 2023, https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-announces-nearly-128-million-
environmental-justice.
50
ENVTL. PROT. AGENCY, The Environmental Justice Government-to-Government Program,
https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/environmental-justice-government-government-program (last edited
April 4, 2024).
51
Envtl. Prot. Agency, supra note 49.
52
ENVTL. PROT. AGENCY, supra note 50.
53
Press Release, Envtl. Prot. Agency, Biden-Harris Administration Announces $600M to 11 Grantmakers to Fund
Thousands of Environmental Justice Projects Across the National as Part of Investing in American Agenda (Dec. 20,
2023), https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-announces-600m-11-grantmakers-fund-
thousands-environmental.

13
 other eligible subrecipients.54 The EPA intends for these subawards to replace work

previously conducted through the Environmental Justice Small Grants Program, as using

the pass-through model allows subrecipients to avoid navigating the federal grants

process and will expedite the awards process.55 Grantmakers will review applications for

projects and “capacity building efforts” to address community environmental and public

health concerns.56

• Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers

Programs (EJTCTAC Program): On April 13, 2023, the EPA announced it had selected

17 Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers (EJ

TCTACs) in collaboration with the Department of Energy to receive $177 million to

operate technical assistance centers.57 Each technical assistance center will receive at

least $10 million, and the program will include over 160 partner organizations, such as

community-based nonprofits, academic institutions, and “Environmental Finance

Centers.”58 These technical assistance centers will provide training and other assistance in

accessing and managing federal grant funding; support for identifying opportunities for

clean energy transition and financing; and assistance with community engagement.59

54
EJTCGM RFA, supra note 13, at 1.
55
Id. at 5-6.
56
Id. at 6.
57
Press Release, Envtl. Prot. Agency, Biden-Harris Administration Announces $177 Million for 17 New Technical
Assistance Centers Across the Nationa to Help Communities Access Historic Investments to Advance
Environmental Justice (April 13, 2023, https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-announces-
177-million-17-new-technical-assistance-centers.
58
Id.
59
Id.

14
II. RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH EPA

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE GRANTS

Several elements of the programs

increase the potential for abuse or

mismanagement. The EPA faces a

daunting challenge in properly managing

and overseeing the billions of dollars and

hundreds of award recipients across its

environmental justice programming.

These factors amplify the risk that award

recipients or their subrecipients and partners will misuse taxpayer funds.

A. Funding Increases and Compressed Timeframes

The IRA provided the EPA with an unprecedented increase in grant funds to manage,

appropriating to the agency approximately $41.5 billion in Fiscal Year (FY) 2022, with

approximately 85% of those funds only available through FY 2026.60 For comparison, the EPA’s

2023 budget was $10.1 billion.61

On March 29, 2023, EPA Inspector General (IG) Sean O’Donnell testified before the

Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations to raise the alarm about some of the

risks that this funding presents.62 The IG noted that the IRA created new programs, which are

60
ENVTL. PROT. AGENCY, supra note 50.
61
ENVTL. PROT. AGENCY, supra note 6, at 29.
62
E&C Spending Oversight Hearing, supra note 17, at 26-35 (statement of Sean O’Donnell, Inspector Gen., Envtl.
Prot. Agency).

15
more vulnerable to “inefficiencies and errors” than existing programs.63 The IG also anticipated

that some of this funding would go to first-time recipients, many of which are unfamiliar with

federal financial awards requirements and practices.64 In his written testimony, he concluded,

“The pace of this spending, when conducted by newly created programs and received by new

recipients, significantly increases the vulnerability of all parties to fraud and creates the potential

for errors or inefficiencies in execution.”65

Created under the Inspector General Act of 1978, the EPA Office of the Inspector General

(OIG) conducts audits, evaluations, and investigations; makes recommendations to promote

efficiency and effectiveness at the EPA; and prevents and detects fraud, waste, abuse,

mismanagement, and misconduct.66 Despite the risks described above, the Democratic majority

in the House and Senate did not provide in the IRA any additional funding to the EPA OIG.67 As

a result, the IG reported to the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations that the OIG did

not have sufficient capacity to properly conduct oversight over IRA funding and “had been

unable to do any meaningful IRA oversight.”68 As such, the EPA currently does not have support

from the EPA OIG in administering these programs, despite the EPA acknowledging that the OIG

is a critical partner in ensuring appropriate use of IRA funds.69

63
Id. at 33 (statement of Sean O’Donnell, Inspector Gen., Envtl. Prot. Agency).
64
Id. at 32 (statement of Sean O’Donnell, Inspector Gen., Envtl. Prot. Agency).
65
Id. at 33 (statement of Sean O’Donnell, Inspector Gen., Envtl. Prot. Agency).
66
OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GEN., ENVTL. PROT. AGENCY, About EPA Office of Inspector General,
https://www.epaoig.gov/about-epas-office-inspector-general (last visited Oct. 28, 2024).
67
OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GEN., ENVTL. PROT. AGENCY, OIG REPORT NO. 24-N-0034, SEMIANNUAL REPORT TO
CONGRESS 5-6 (2024).
68
E&C Spending Oversight Hearing, supra note 62, at 33.
69
OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GEN., ENVTL. PROT. AGENCY, supra note 67, at 5-6.

16
 B. The Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights

The relatively new OEJECR will administer billions of dollars in environmental justice

financial awards. The programs and offices that were combined to form this new office

previously had a total budget of about $12 million. With the passage of the IRA the OEJECR

now bears responsibility for $3 billion in block grants to community-based nonprofit

organizations.70

Turnover of leadership has plagued the new office.71 As of September 10, 2024, President

Biden has yet to nominate an assistant administrator to lead the new office.72 As one former

member of the Biden-Harris transition team who now leads an environmental group stated, “The

absence of confirmed political leadership for that office is problematic.”73

70
OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GEN., ENVTL. PROT. AGENCY, REPORT NO. 24-N-0008, THE EPA’S FISCAL YEAR 2024
TOP MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES 15 (2023).
71
Kevin Bogardus & Robin Bravender, “Constant Churn” in EPA Office at Heart of Biden’s Agenda, POLITICO, Apr.
17, 2024, https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eenews/2024/04/17/constant-churn-in-epa-office-at-heart-of-
bidens-agenda-00152736.
72
See WASH. POST, Biden Political Appointee Tracker,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2020/biden-appointee-tracker/ (last visited Oct. 28, 2024);
Kevin Bogardus, Wanted: Top Manager for EPA’s Environmental Justice Office, Politico, July 16, 2024,
https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eenews/2024/07/16/wanted-top-manager-for-epas-environmental-justice-
office-00168634.
73
Bogardus & Bravender, supra note 71.

17
 C. Use of the Pass-Through Model

As noted above, the EPA has

designed the EJTCGM Program, in

particular, to facilitate easier and faster

access to federal funds for small

organizations by allowing them to avoid

the full federal awards process.74 This

program will employ the pass-through

model, under which the EPA chooses

grantmakers and then entrusts them with

the responsibility to distribute funding to other entities for their own projects in the form of

subawards.75 As the EPA describes it, “the pass-through model removes the requirement of

applying through the federal grants process.”76 These efforts expose the EPA to additional risks

of waste, fraud, and abuse. IG O’Donnell testified before the Subcommittee on Oversight and

Investigations on OEJECR programs generally, “We are concerned that, in seeking to reach new

recipients, the OEJECR will eschew or elide important internal controls and anti-fraud

protections.”77

The EPA OIG reiterated these concerns in its FY 2024 Top Management Challenges Report,

stating, “We remain concerned that, in seeking to reach new recipients, the office will avoid or

omit important internal controls and antifraud protections.”78

74
See EJTCGM RFA, supra note 13, at 5-6.
75
Id. at 2.
76
Id. at 5
77
E&C Spending Oversight Hearing, supra note 62, at 34.
78
OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GEN., ENVTL. PROT. AGENCY, supra note 70, at 15.

18
 The Committee highlighted many of these concerns in a March 28, 2023, request to EPA

Administrator Michael Regan for information on the EJTCGM Program.79 The EPA purports that

it has previously carried out financial assistance programs utilizing pass-through entities and

provides extensive guidance to the pass-through entities through its Subaward Policy and other

guidance.80 However, the influx of new funding and explosion of new programming discussed

above will tax the EPA’s oversight and financial awards monitoring capabilities.

IV. ALARMING AWARDS DECISIONS81

In addition to the general risks surrounding the EPA’s environmental justice grants,

concerning patterns emerged as the EPA began to announce grant recipients and partners for

some of these programs. Numerous organizations selected and their partners support specific

energy or environmental policy positions or outcomes. These policy priorities frequently mirror

the radical rush-to-green energy policies that the Biden-Harris administration has pushed.

Some of these selectees promote clear political positions and ideologies, despite claiming

to be nonpartisan. Some have embraced obstructionist tactics to undermine energy projects and

industries they oppose. Additionally, many selectees and their partners have developed expertise

and strategies for promoting their desired energy and environmental policy outcomes and devote

considerable efforts to these advocacy activities. As such, they possess considerable experience

influencing public opinion and attempting to manipulate the federal decision-making processes.

79
March 2023 Committee Letter, supra note 10.
80
Letter from Tim Del Monico, Assoc. Adm’r, Envtl. Prot. Agency, to Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Chair, H. Comm.
on Energy and Commerce, et al. (May 8, 2023).
81
This section includes only a selection of examples and is not an exhaustive list of awards or organizations that fall
into this category.

19
 This is particularly disturbing due to the nature of some of the allowable activities under

some of the environmental justice programs. For example, the Committee has previously raised

concerns about the vague nature of some activities that selectees may engage in or fund.82 Some

of these programs fund “public outreach” or “public education.”83 Given the clear policy

positions and advocacy activities by some selectees, their own leanings may color their

communications with the public, and they may attempt to indoctrinate and influence members of

the communities in which the funded projects take place, rather than simply provide unbiased

information.

Additionally, the IRA’s environmental and climate justice block grants language allows

grant recipients to use awards for “facilitating engagement of disadvantaged communities in

State and Federal advisory groups, workshops, rulemakings, and other public processes.”84

Similarly, selectees may encourage community members to echo the selectee’s opinions and

policy preferences rather than empower them to express their own views. Rather than informing

and educating disadvantaged communities, activist organizations could use these grants as

another resource to fund their attempts to execute their own policy and political goals. While

federal regulations forbid selectees from using grants funds for direct lobbying,85 using federal

funds to spread a particular ideology is an inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars. Even if selectees

use all of this funding in an appropriate and nonbiased manner, the EPA has still channeled huge

sums towards left-leaning, activist organizations, freeing up previously existing resources to

campaign for their preferred outcomes.

82
See, e.g., May 2024 Committee Letter, supra note 10.
83
EJCPS RFA, supra note 13, at 9; EJTCGM RFA, supra note 13, at 11.
84
Pub. L. No. 117-169 § 60201.
85
See, e.g., EJTCGM RFA, supra note 13, at 20 (citing 2 C.F.R. § 200.450).

20
 While the EPA claims these grants will facilitate community involvement in federal

decision-making, many of the selectees are connected to large, well-funded environmental

organizations pushing for specific public policy outcomes. Wealthy environmental organizations,

activists, and donors have employed a new strategy of channeling funding to “grassroots”

organizations to promote their agendas. Many of these supposedly “community-based nonprofit

organizations”86 already receive considerable funding from large, wealthy advocacy groups.

A. Policy Agendas

Rather than generally promoting cleaner air, water, and energy infrastructure, many

environmental justice grant recipients and partners actively promote particular policy outcomes,

such as the elimination of certain energy sources. Many of these objectives align with those of

the Biden-Harris administration, which has taken numerous steps to force a rushed transition

away from fossil fuel energy resources while pouring billions of dollars into renewable energy

technologies.87

86
See, e.g., Envtl. Prot. Agency, Office of Envtl. Justice and External Civil Rights, EPA-R-OEJECR-OCS-23-04,
Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants Program: Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)
30 (Aug. 6, 2024), available at https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2024-08/environmental-and-climate-
justice-community-change-grants-program-notice-of-funding-opportunity-nofo-august-2024.pdf (defining
community-based non-profit organization); EJCPS RFA, supra note 13, at 17-18 (defining eligible applicants).
87
See, e.g. Press Release, The White House, FACT SHEET: President Biden Commemorates Historic Climate
Legacy During Climate Week NYC (Sept. 23, 2023), https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-
releases/2024/09/23/fact-sheet-president-biden-commemorates-historic-climate-legacy-during-climate-week-nyc/
(celebrating federal spending and incentives for renewable energy and electric vehicles); H. Comm. on Energy and
Commerce, E&C Republicans Lead CRA to Reverse President Biden’s Attack on Affordable, Reliable American
Power, June 11, 2024, https://energycommerce.house.gov/posts/e-and-c-republicans-lead-cra-to-reverse-president-
biden-s-attack-on-affordable-reliable-american-power.

21
 1. Energy Resource Bias

The EPA has awarded numerous grants to organizations opposing the use of certain

energy resources. Under the EJTGCM Program, the EPA selected the Climate Justice Alliance to

receive $50,000,000 as a National Grantmaker, and a partner under another award.88 This

organization seeks to “[e]nd the era of [e]xtreme [e]nergy (fossil fuels, nuclear power, waste and

biomass incineration, landfill gas, mega-hydro, and agrofuels).”89 Union of Concerned Scientists,

a partner organization under the EJTCTAC Program, dedicates a webpage to arguing that “many

of the world’s largest fossil fuel companies have knowingly deceived the public about climate

science and policy,” while also promoting their “climate litigation.”90 The Southern

Environmental Law Center, a partner organization under the EJTCGM Program, states that it is

“working to stop the harms posed by fossil fuels,”91 and lists protecting the Atlantic Ocean “from

all forms of fossil-fuel exploration and drilling” as one of its major priorities.92 Similarly, EJCPS

Program funding recipient Delaware Valley Citizens Council for Clean Air,93 seemingly affiliated

with the large nonprofit Clean Air Council,94 “calls for a rapid transition away from fossil

88
EPA 2023 EJTCGM Selectees List, supra note 12, at 3, 11.
89
CLIMATE JUSTICE ALLIANCE, Risks of Global Carbon Markets and Carbon Pricing,
https://climatejusticealliance.org/risks-global-carbon-markets-carbon-pricing/ (last visited Sept. 30, 2024).
90
UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS, Fossil Fuel Accountability, https://www.ucsusa.org/climate/accountability
(last visited Sept. 30, 2024); ENVTL. PROT. AGENCY, 2023-24 Environmental Justice Thriving Communities
Technical Assistance Centers Program 11 (EJ TCTAC), Apr. 2024,
https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2024-05/ej-tctac-project-summaries-updated-april-2024.pdf
[hereinafter EPA 2023-24 EJTCTAC Selectees] (listing the partner organizations).
91
SOUTHERN ENVTL. LAW CTR., Climate Change, https://www.southernenvironment.org/our-focus/climate-change/
(last visited Sept. 30, 2024); EPA 2023 EJTCGM Selectees List, supra note 12, at 2,7 (listing the selectees and
partner organizations).
92
SOUTHERN ENVTL. LAW CTR, Stopping Offshore Drilling, https://www.southernenvironment.org/topic/offshore-
drilling/ (last visited Sept. 30, 2024).
93
Envtl. Prot. Agency, 2023 Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving (EJCPS) Program Project
Summaries 13, Oct. 2023, https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023-10/2023-the-environmental-justice-
collaborative-problem-solving-ejcps-program-project-summaries_0.pdf [hereinafter EJCPS Selected Projects]
(listing selected recipients).
94
Both list the same website and point of contact in federal databases. See USASPENDING, Delaware Valley Citizens’
Council for Clean Air, https://www.usaspending.gov/recipient/956a7c77-97b6-87e5-8bda-bb3edf38d681-C/latest
(listing one organization known by both names); U.S. GEN. SERVS. ADMIN., SAM.GOV, Delaware Valley Citizens

22
fuels.”95 According to this organization, “fossil fuels need strict regulatory controls and must be

deliberately phased out with careful planning as quickly as possible.”96 As a final example,

Emerald Cities Collaborative, another partner of a National Grantmaker that EPA selected for an

award under the EJTCGM Program,97 published an Energy Democracy “flipbook” supporting an

“energy economy” that bans natural gas and fossil fuels.98

2. Anti- Liquified Natural Gas Activism

Under its EJTCTAC Program, the EPA awarded $10,000,000 to West Harlem

Environmental Action, Incorporated (WE ACT) to operate a technical assistance center, the WE

ACT Technical Assistance Collaborative.99 WE ACT lists “[f]ighting [l]iquified [n]atural [g]as

and [f]alse [s]olution [i]nfrastructure” among its 2024 policy priorities.100 It has called on federal

agencies to halt new or expanded liquified natural gas operations and vows to continue this

“advocacy campaign.”101 Notably, the Biden-Harris administration announced a pause on exports

of liquified natural gas in January 2024.102

Council for Clean Air,

https://sam.gov/entities/view/P1C7JWHCAKY3/coreData?status=Active&emrKeyValue=2319889~1713974083088
484 (last visited Sept. 30, 2024) (listing the same website and point of contact); U.S. GEN. SERVS. ADMIN.,
SAM.GOV, Clean Air Council,
https://sam.gov/entities/view/RVABT5PL87J7/coreData?status=Active&emrKeyValue=3531008~170654751142663
6 (last visited Sept. 30, 2028) (listing same website and point of contact).
95
CLEAN AIR COUNCIL, Climate and Energy, https://cleanair.org/climate-energy/ (last visited Sept. 24, 2024).
96
Id.
97
EPA 2023 EJTCGM Selectees List, supra note 12, at 1-2.
98
EMERALD CITIES COLLABORATIVE, Energy Democracy 3-4 (2021) https://emeraldcities.org/wp-
content/uploads/2021/04/Energy-Democracy-FINAL_Flipbook.pdf
99
EPA 2023-24 EJTCTAC Selectees, supra note 90, at 5-6.
100
WEST HARLEM ENVTL. ACTION, 2024 Policy Agenda 5 (2023), https://www.weact.org/wp-
content/uploads/2023/11/2024-Policy-Agenda.pdf.
101
Id. at 16.
102
Press Release, The White House, FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Announced Temporary Pause on
Pending Approvals of Liquefied Natural Gas Exports (Jan. 26, 2024), https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-
room/statements-releases/2024/01/26/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-announces-temporary-pause-on-
pending-approvals-of-liquefied-natural-gas-exports/

23
 3. Anti-Offshore Oil and Gas Activity

As another example, the EPA awarded $13,000,000 to the Deep South Center for

Environmental Justice to work with other community-based organizations to develop the

Community Investment Recovery Center.103 One of its partner organizations, Healthy Gulf,

stated that it is building support for “a permanent moratorium on drilling in the Eastern Gulf and

a transition to renewable energy that will forever remove the need to drill anywhere in the Gulf,”

as well as “end[ing] all new offshore leasing in the Gulf of Mexico.”104 In advertising its

Resisting Dirty Energy Campaign, the organization has a stated a goal “to stop, delay, or reduce

oil, gas, and petrochemical development through building the capacity of frontline leaders.”105

4. The Push to Ban Gas Stoves

The Biden-Harris administration’s attempted banning of gas stoves also overlaps with the

work of these advocacy groups receiving taxpayer funding. The Biden-Harris administration

demonstrated that it favors the use of electric stoves over gas stoves, with the Department of

Energy proposing a rule that would ban most gas cooking stoves on the market at the time,106 the

Consumer Product Safety Commission labeling them “potential hidden hazards,”107 and

Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm promoting a study linking some childhood asthma cases

to gas stoves and stating the IRA would increase access to electric and induction cooktops.108

103
EPA 2023-24 EJTCTAC Selectees, supra note 90, at 11.
104
HEALTHY GULF, Offshore Drilling in the Gulf, https://healthygulf.org/campaigns/offshore-
drilling/#:~:text=We%20must%20work%20to%20end,t%20afford%20a%20polluting%20economy (last visited
Sept. 27, 2024); EPA 2023-23 EJTCTAC Selectees, supra note 90, at 11.
105
HEALTHY GULF, Resisting Dirty Energy Campaign 2023 Grant Applications Now Open, July 5, 2023,
https://healthygulf.org/resisting-dirty-energy-campaign-2023-grant-applications-now-open/.
106
Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Consumer Conventional Cooking Standards,
88 Fed. Reg. 6818 (Feb. 1, 2023); Press Release, H. Comm on Energy and Commerce, Chair Rodgers Urges House
to Pass the Save Our Gas Stoves Act (June 13, 2023) (describing the impact of the proposed rule).
107
CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMM’N, CPSC Approves Request for Information on Gas Stove Hazards and
Potential Solutions, Mar. 1, 2023, https://www.cpsc.gov/About-CPSC/Commissioner/Richard-
Trumka/Statement/CPSC-Approves-Request-for-Information-on-Gas-Stove-Hazards-and-Potential-Solutions
108
X, Secretary Jennifer Granholm (Jan. 4, 2023), https://x.com/SecGranholm/status/1610735318340075544.

24
EJTCTAC Program selectee WE ACT launched its “Out of Gas, In with Justice” campaign “to

pursue a statewide policy agenda designed to make it easier […] to make the transition away

from fossil fuels like gas in favor of renewable energy sources.”109 Another partner organization

under an EJTCGM Program award, BlocPower, works to “decarbonize[e] buildings by replacing

fossil fuel-burning appliances with modern, all-electric equipment.”110

5. The Forced Transition to Electric Vehicles

Additionally, the Biden-Harris administration has prioritized pushing the country toward

adoption of electric vehicle use.111 As Members of the Committee have pointed out, the EPA’s

recent tailpipe emissions rule would effectively require that at least two-thirds of all new cars in

the United States be electric by 2032.112 Organizations partnering with selectees under

environmental justice programs are working towards this same goal. For example, the

Environmental Defense Fund, a partner organizations under the EJTCTAC Program, claims it

was “instrumental in building consensus” around the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of zero-

emission vehicles making up half of new passenger vehicles sold in the United States by 2030.113

EJTGCM Program partner organization the Southern Environmental Law Center states that it is

working at all levels of government to increase adoption of electric vehicles, including “fighting

to defend Clean Car standards” from actions taken by the governor of Virginia.114 Another, the

109
WEST HARLEM ENVTL. ACTION, Out of Gas, In with Justice Initiative, https://www.weact.org/campaigns/out-of-
gas/ (last visited Sept. 23, 2023).
110
EPA 2023 EJTCGM Selectees List, supra note 12, at 6; BLOCPOWER, Electrifying Buildings Accessible and
Affordably at Scale, https://www.blocpower.io/building-electrification (last visited Sept. 23, 2024).
111
See, e.g., H. COMM. ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE, E&C Republicans Lead to Stop the Biden-Harris De Facto EV
Mandate, Sept. 23, 2024, https://energycommerce.house.gov/posts/e-and-c-republicans-lead-to-stop-the-biden-
harris-de-facto-ev-mandate.
112
Id.; Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards for Model Years 2027 and Later Light-Duty and Medium Duty Vehicles,
89 Fed. Reg. 27,842 (Apr. 18, 2024).
113
ENVTL. DEF. FUND, 50+ Years of Big Impacts, https://www.edf.org/impact (last visited Oct. 28, 2024); EPA 2023-
24 EJTCTAC Selectees, supra note 90, at 11.
114
SOUTHERN ENVTL. LAW CTR., Accelerating Electric Vehicles,
https://www.southernenvironment.org/topic/accelerating-electric-vehicles/ (last visited Oct. 28, 2024).

25
Midwest Environmental Justice Network, included among its list of “wins” that one of the

organizations within its network successfully advocated for a state electric vehicle mandate.115

Yet another partner organization under this program, Liberty Hill, urged visitors to its website,

“Get polluting cars off the road via replacement-rebate programs for hybrid and electric

vehicles.”116

6. Obstructionist Tactics

Rather than simply informing policy discussions, many environmental justice program

selectees and partners celebrate their efforts to obstruct energy infrastructure projects they

oppose. Several EJTCGM Program partner organizations advertise these successes. For example,

the Southern Environmental Law Center counts “[d]efeating the Atlantic Coast Pipeline” among

its “victories.”117 The Chesapeake Bay Foundation celebrated this project’s cancellation as a

“win” and “landmark victory.”118 Another partner organization, the NAACP Maryland State

Conference, discusses its efforts to “shut down coal plants” on a webpage featuring Vice

President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris.119 Healthy Gulf lauded its use of lawsuits to

stop oil, gas, and petrochemical industry development and celebrated the number of lawsuits it

had filed in a particular year.120 Yet another, the RE-AMP Network, praises the

115
MIDWEST ENVTL. JUSTICE NETWORK, A Year in Review: 2023 Environmental Justice Policy Winds Across the
Midwest, June 24, 2023, https://www.mwejn.org/news/a-year-in-review-policy-wins-2023; EJTCGM Selectees List,
supra note 12, at 8.
116
LIBERTY HILL, EMPOWER OUTREACH, https://www.libertyhill.org/how-we-work/campaigns/empower-outreach/
(last visited Oct. 28, 2024); EJTCGM Selectees List, supra note 12, at 11.
117
SOUTHERN ENVTL. LAW CTR., Our Impact, https://www.southernenvironment.org/our-impact/ (last visited Oct.
28, 2023).
118
CHESAPEAKE BAY FOUND., In a Win for the Bay, Atlantic Coast Pipeline Cancelled, July 13, 2020,
https://www.cbf.org/blogs/save-the-bay/2020/07/in-a-win-for-the-bay-atlantic-coast-pipeline-cancelled.html;
EJTCGM Selectees List, supra note 12, at 6.
119
NAACP MD. STATE CONFERENCE, ENVTL. AND CLIMATE JUSTICE COMM., https://www.naacpmdecj.org/ (last
visited Sept. 24, 2024); EJTCGM Selectees List, supra note 12, at 6.
120
HEALTHY GULF, 2022 Annual Report, https://readymag.website/u422742300/4284255/fightingindustrialbailout/
(last visited Oct. 28, 2024).

26
“accomplishment” that “over 150 coal plants have been slated for retirement.”121 EJ TCTAC

partner Union of Concerned Scientists credits its research for the “waive of new lawsuits” fossil

fuel companies face.122

B. Policy and Political Advocacy

While the EPA claims these grants will help communities participate in public policy

decisions, some community-based nonprofit organizations and their partners already claim they

are working to secure their preferred outcomes.

1. Exerting Political Influence

For example, WE ACT has an office in Washington, D.C., “to advance federal policy

needs and interests of its Northern Manhattan community,” and “has a long track record of

successfully impacting federal legislation over the years."123 Several partner organizations under

the EJTCGMP Program have devoted considerable attention to influencing energy and

environmental policy. The Southern Environmental Law Center stated it is “working with

Congress and the Biden administration to ensure a permanent ban on offshore drilling.”124 The

Midwest Environmental Justice Network’s webpage features a list of its environmental justice

policy “wins,” including policy and regulatory changes.125 EJTCTAC Program partner

121
RE-AMP NETWORK, About,
https://www.reamp.org/about/#:~:text=The%20Network's%20efforts%20to%20date,have%20been%20slated%20for
%20retirement (last visited Oct. 28, 2024); EJTCGM Selectees List, supra note 12, at 8.
122
UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS, Fossil Fuel Accountability,
https://www.ucsusa.org/climate/accountability#toc-deception (last visited Oct. 29, 2024).
123
WEST HARLEM ENVTL. ACTION, Federal Policy Office, https://www.weact.org/federal-policy-office/ (last visited
Sept. 24, 2024).
124
SOUTHERN ENVTL. LAW CTR., Stopping Offshore Drilling, https://www.southernenvironment.org/topic/offshore-
drilling/ (Sept. 24, 2024).
125
See MIDWEST ENVTL. JUSTICE NETWORK, A Year in Review: 2023 Environmental Justice Policy Wins Across the
Midwest, June 24, 2024, https://www.mwejn.org/news/a-year-in-review-policy-wins-2023.

27
organization Healthy Gulf is “pushing U.S. Representatives and Senators to…pass a permanent

moratorium on offshore drilling near Florida’s Gulf Coast.”126 It also stated:

EPA is finally taking strong action to protect communities following their Journey

to Justice tour. Now is the time to celebrate these victories while we hold their feet

to the fire, and organize to give EPA the public support they need to keep doing

their job in a rapidly changing political environment.127

Another partner organization, the Environmental Defense Fund claimed to help Congress

pass the IRA, claiming it “worked with key congressional offices and Biden administration

officials.”128 Another, the Union of Concerned Scientists, advertises that it is “[c]rafting,

lobbying, and advocating for urgent and near term transformational and long-term climate

solutions.”129

2. Election Involvement

The EPA plans to provide funding to organizations already working to secure

policy goals through influencing elections as well. EJCPS Program recipient, the Clean

Water Fund, described its strategy to “reach 250,000 households during the 2022 election

season in Michigan alone.”130 This organizations further stated, “In dozens of close races,

clean water voters turned out in record numbers to support pro-environment candidates.”131

In describing its mission, EJTCGM Program partner the RE-AMP Network includes

126
HEALTHY GULF, Protect Florida’s Coast from Offshore Drilling, https://healthygulf.org/action_alerts/protect-
floridas-coast-from-offshore-oil-drilling/ (last visited Oct. 29, 2024).
127
HEALTHY GULF, EPA Hearing on Cancer-Causing Ethylene Oxide with Spanish & Vietnamese Available, Feb. 10,
2022, https://healthygulf.org/epa-hearing-on-cancer-causing-ethylene-oxide-with-spanish-vietnamese-available/.
128
ENVTL. DEF. FUND, 50+ Years of Big Impacts, https://www.edf.org/impact (last visited Oct. 28, 2024).
129
UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS, The Climate Campaign for the Future, https://www.ucsusa.org/take-
action/climate-campaign-future (last visited Sept. 24, 2024).
130
CLEAN WATER FUND, Clean Water Action and Clean Water Fund 2022 Annual Report, Dec. 1, 2023,
https://cleanwaterfund.org/publications/clean-water-action-and-clean-water-fund-2022-annual-report; EJCPS
Selected Projects, supra note 93, at 14.
131
CLEAN WATER FUND, supra note 130.

28
organizations to “focus on building the political will necessary for climate action.”132

Another partner organization, the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, joined efforts

for state and congressional legislative redistricting.133

C. Political Bias

1. Anti-Republican Sentiment

Some selectees and partners appear to have clear political bias. The Climate Justice

Alliance, selected to be a National Grantmaker under the EJTCGM Program issued a press

release implying congressional Republicans deserved blame for a potential government

shutdown in 2023.134 EJTCTAC Program selectee WE ACT posted a blog criticizing

“Republican gas stove culture wars,” and House GOP Members’ “preformative, out-of-touch

agenda.”135 The New York Immigration Coalition, an EJTCGM Program partner, accused the

Trump administration of preventing people from voting.136 Another partner, the Wyoming

Outdoor Council, attacked the Trump administration’s “environmental rollbacks” and stated it

would “successfully defend the good rules and regulations put in place by the prior

administration.”137 Healthy Gulf urged on its website, “we must ensure that the federal

132
THE RE-AMP NETWORK, https://www.reamp.org/ (last visited on Oct. 29, 2024).
133
N.J. ALLIANCE FOR IMMIGRANT JUSTICE, When We Fight, We Win, https://www.njimmigrantjustice.org/wins (last
visited Oct. 29, 2024); EJTCGM Selectees List, supra note 12, at 8.
134
Press Release, Climate Justice Alliance, Climate Justice Alliance Statement on Looming Government Shutdown
(Sept. 29, 2023), https://climatejusticealliance.org/shutdown/
135
Annika Larson & Ashley Sullivan, Republican Gas Stoves Culture War Distracts from Environmental Justice,
Public Health, and Climate Concerns, WEST HARLEM ENVTL. ACTION, Apr. 2024,
https://www.weact.org/2024/04/republican-gas-stoves-culture-war-distracts-from-environmental-justice-public-
health-climate-concerns/ .
136
N.Y. IMMIGRATION COALITION, A BLUEPRINT FOR THE NATION: BUILDING IMMIGRANT POWER FROM CALIFORNIA
TO NEW YORK 14-15 (2021), https://www.nyic.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Blueprint-Digital-FINAL.pdf;
EJTCGM Selectees List, supra note 12, at 5.
137
Lisa McGee, Ensuring Responsible Energy Development, Cleaner Air, & Healthier Communities, WYO.
OUTDOOR COUNCIL, Oct. 16, 2027, https://wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org/2017/10/16/ensuring-responsible-energy-
development-cleaner-air-healthier-communities/; EJTCGM Selectees List, supra note 12, at 10.

29
government reinstates common sense, safety, and environmental oversights that the Trump

administration rolled back.”138

2. Progressive Ideology

While some of these organizations maintain they are nonpartisan or do not list a political

affiliation, they support ideology clearly associated with the political left. Selected as a

Grantmaker to receive $50,000,000 under the EJTCGM Program, Social and Environmental

Entrepreneurs, Incorporated (Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs) aims to “facilitate

progressive change in areas of social and environmental justice.”139 One of its partner

organizations under the EJTCGM Program award, Liberty Hill, claims to operate a “nonpartisan

electoral engagement program” with a goal to “build electoral power in communities most

impacted by systemic oppression to win progressive public policy.”140 One EJCPS Program

selectee, the Maine People’s Resource Center, states that its mission includes advancing

campaigns for “progressive social change.”141 Finally, the Environmental Protection Network,

partnering with several EJTCTAC selectees,142 claims to utilize expertise of former appointees of

Republican and Democratic administrations.143 However, its “policy work focuses on preserving,

protecting, and improving public health and the environment by ensuring that EPA advances

progressive policies, budgets, and institutional changes.”144

138
HEALTHY GULF, Offshore Drilling in the Gulf, https://healthygulf.org/campaigns/offshore-drilling/ (last visited
Sept. 29, 2024).
139
SOC. AND ENVTL. ENTREPRENEURS, Mission & Purpose, https://saveourplanet.org/about-see/mission-purpose/
(last visited Sept. 24, 2024); EJTCGM Selectees List, supra note 12, at 10.
140
LIBERTY HILL, Electoral Power Building, https://www.libertyhill.org/what-we-do/our-priorities/electoral-power-
building/ (last visited Sept. 24, 2024).
141
ME. PEOPLE’S RES. CTR., About MPRC, https://mprc.me/about/ (last visited Sept. 24, 2024); EJCPS Selected
Projects, supra note 93, at 6.
142
EPA 2023-24 EJTCTAC Selectees, supra note 90, at 3, 5, 9, 11, 13, 20, 25.
143
ENVTL. PROT. NETWORK, About EPN, https://www.environmentalprotectionnetwork.org/about/about-epn/ (last
visited Sept. 25, 2024).
144
ENVTL. PROT. NETWORK, National Environmental Policy, https://www.environmentalprotectionnetwork.org/our-
work/national-enviromental-policy/ (last visited Oct. 29 2024).

30
 3. Green New Deal Support

Similarly, selectees and partner organizations have joined some Democrats in supporting

various types of “Green New Deal” policies or legislation. As one example, the Climate Justice

Alliance announced its support for presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders’ Green New

Deal in 2019.145 The Steps Coalition, selected to receive funding under the EJCPS Program,

joined a moment called the “Gulf South for a Green New Deal” that created a platform based on

a United States House of Representatives resolution regarding a Green New Deal.146 The Maine

People’s Resource Center, selected for funding under that same program, supports a Maine

Green New Deal.147

D. Recipient and Partner Ties to Powerful Organizations

Given the IRA’s direction to provide funding to “community-based nonprofit

organizations”148 and the EPA’s stated goal of reaching under-resourced organizations that

previously have not received federal funding,149 taxpayers may assume the EPA’s selectees lack

access to funding from other sources. This is not the case. Many of these organizations and their

partners already receive considerable funding from large, wealthy environmental groups and

activist donors to push a particular policy agenda. Some of the selectees and partner

organizations themselves rake in millions of dollars annually.150

145
Press Release, Climate Justice Alliance, Bernie Sanders’ Green New Deal Proposal Is a Blueprint for the
Regenerative Economy We Must Strive For, Aug. 19, 2024, https://climatejusticealliance.org/bernie-sanders-green-
new-deal/.
146
Steps Coalition, Climate and Environmental Justice, https://www.stepscoalition.org/climate-environmental-
justice (last visited Sept. 24, 2024); ); EJCPS Selected Projects, supra note 93, at 20.
147
ME. PEOPLE’S RES. CTR., MPRC on the Issues, https://mprc.me/issues/ (last visited Sept. 24, 2024).
148
Pub. L. No. 117-169 § 60201.
149
EJTCGM RFA, supra note 13, at 5-6.
150
See, e.g., Envtl. Def. Fund, Dep’t of Treasury, Internal Revenue Serv., Form 990: Return of Organization Exempt
from Income Tax (2022 Return) [hereinafter EDF 2022 Tax Return] (listing the organization’s revenue); Climate

31
 1. “Grassroots” Funding Trend

Many are aware that large donors and funds channel huge sums of money into

environmental organizations151 and that some amass hundreds of millions of dollars annually, in

part, to campaign for their priorities.152 However, a new strategy of funneling money from these

large funds and environmental organizations to “grassroots” or seemingly local organizations for

activism has emerged.153 As described by EJTGCM Program selectee, Climate Justice Alliance,

“Longstanding and emerging frontline leadership, alliances (representing hundreds of under-

resourced grassroots communities), and movement support organizations have formed a growing

climate justice movement ecosystem that is shutting down the ‘dig, burn, dump’ fossil fuel

economy responsible for accelerating the climate crisis.”154 One of its partner organizations

under that EPA award, the Fund for Frontline Power, provides one example. Inside Philanthropy

describes it as such: “Created in the aftermath of the Bezos Earth Fund’s initial round of grants,

the fund was designed as a conduit for established recipients like the Union of Concerned

Justice Alliance, Dep’t of Treasury, Internal Revenue Serv., Form 990: Return of Organization Exempt from Income
Tax (2021 Return) (listing the organization’s revenue).
151
See, e.g., Samuel Rutzick, Blog: The Millionaires and Billionaires of Environmental Politics, COMPETITIVE
ENTERPRISE INST., (Aug. 7, 2019) https://cei.org/blog/the-millionaires-and-billionaires-of-environmental-politics/;
Kevin Killough, Enviro-Activist Groups Take in Nearly 10 Times the Funding as Fossil Fuel Advocates, ANALYSIS
SAYS, https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/energy/analysis-activist-groups-take-nearly-10-times-much-funding-
fossil-fuel.
152
See, e.g., Robert Bryce, The Billionaires Behind the Gas Bans, Jan. 26, 2023,
https://robertbryce.substack.com/p/the-billionaires-behind-the-gas-
bans?r=2vnfr&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web.
153
INST. FOR ENERGY RESEARCH, The Money Behind the Green Curtain, Apr. 24, 2019,
https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/renewable/the-money-behind-the-green-curtain/ (noting that large
foundations fund activism by issuing grants to seemingly local organizations); Examining the Influence of Extreme
Environmental Activist Groups in the Department of the Interior: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Oversight and
Investigations of the H. Comm. on Natural Resources, 118th Cong. (2024) (statement of Scott Walter, President,
Capital Research Center), (explaining that large funds manage nonprofits, which then create grassroots organizations
to accomplish political goals).
154
CLIMATE JUSTICE ALLIANCE, Funders & Donors for a Just Transition, https://climatejusticealliance.org/funders/
(last visited Sept. 25, 2024).

32
Scientists to share some of their windfalls with small, ground-level climate justice groups.”155

The Amalgamated Foundation, another partner under this same award, assists donors with

funneling money to nonprofits on “the frontlines of social change.”156

2. Ties to Larger Organizations

While taxpayers may understandably envision environmental justice grant selectees and

their partners being smaller local organizations having few resources, instead the Biden-Harris

EPA is choosing selectees that in many cases already receive funding from major environmental

activist organizations. For example, the EPA selected Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs to

received $50,000,000 under the EJTCGM program.157 Meanwhile, since 2021, this organization

has received grants totaling millions of dollars from large environmental organizations, such as

the Environmental Defense Fund,158 the Natural Resources Defense Council,159 the Sierra

Club,160 and the United States Energy Foundation.161 The National Housing Trust, a lead

applicant selected to receive funding under the EJCCGP Program,162 received $420,000 from the

Energy Foundation between 2021 and 2022.163 The Deep South Center for Environmental

Justice, an EJTCTAC Program selectee, also received $755,000 from the United States Energy

155
Michael Kavate, Flush from Bezos, Groups Set Up Climate Fund with Front-Line Leaders in Charge. Will Others
Join?, INSIDE PHILANTHROPY, Jan. 11, 2024,
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T7mq2592Dw_AybocZyBGYdY06zkchW2n/view.
156
AMALGAMATED FOUND., Donor Advised Funds, https://amalgamatedfoundation.org/donor-advised-fund (last
visited Sept. 25, 2024).
157
EJTCGM Selectees List, supra note 12, at 11.
158
EDF 2022 Tax Return, supra note 150, at 49; Envtl. Def. Fund, Dep’t of Treasury, Internal Revenue Serv., Form
990: Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax 46 (2021 Return).
159
Nat. Res. Def. Coun., Dep’t of Treasury, Internal Revenue Serv., Form 990: Return of Organization Exempt from
Income Tax 47 (2022 Return) [hereinafter NRDC 2022 Tax Return]; Nat. Res. Def. Coun., Dep’t of Treasury,
Internal Revenue Serv., Form 990: Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax 47 (2021 Return)
160
Sierra Club, Dep’t of Treasury, Internal Revenue Serv., Form 990: Return of Organization Exempt from Income
Tax 34 (2022 Return)
161
U.S. Energy Found., Dep’t of Treasury, Internal Revenue Serv., Form 990: Return of Organization Exempt from
Income Tax 60 (2022 Return) [hereinafter USEF 2022 Tax Return].
162
Envtl. Prot. Agency, Community Change Grants Selections, https://www.epa.gov/inflation-reduction-
act/community-change-grants-selections [hereinafter EJCCP Selections] (last visited Oct. 30, 2024).
163
USEF 2022 Tax Return, supra note 161, at 52; U.S. Energy Found., Dep’t of Treasury, Internal Revenue Serv.,
Form 990: Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax 50 (2021 Return) [hereinafter USEF 2021 Tax Return].

33
Foundation between 2021 and 2022.164 Its partner organizations under this award have also

collectively received millions of dollars from large environmental organizations and foundations

over this same period.165 The Clean Water Fund, slated to receive funding under the EJCPS

program, received a total of $690,000 from the United States Energy Foundation and the Climate

Imperative Foundation in 2021 and 2022.166 This list features just a few of the many examples.

3. One Example: The Windward Fund

To further illustrate this point, the Windward Fund provides an example of a large fund

channeling money to smaller organizations to secure desired policy changes. This nonprofit

organization funds environmental projects and “grassroots activists,”167 with nearly $200 million

in revenue and over $337 billion in total assets in 2022.168 However, it also engages in policy

advocacy and lobbying activities, as well.169 One of the Windward Fund’s supported projects

includes Rewiring America, a nonprofit that pushes for electrification and a transition away from

fossil fuels, including by “mobiliz[ing] policymakers.”170 Rewiring America has been

164
USEF 2022 Tax Return, supra note 161, at 42; USEF 2021 Tax Return, supra note 163, at 43.
165
See, e.g., Climate Imperative Found., Dep’t of Treasury, Internal Revenue Serv., Form 990: Return of
Organization Exempt from Income Tax 35 (2022 Return) [hereinafter CIF 2022 Tax Return] (reporting a $340,000
award to Healthy Gulf); EDF 2022 Tax Return, supra note 150, at 44 (reporting a $20,000 award to the Coalition of
Community Organizations); NRDC 2022 Tax Return, supra note 159, at 42 (reporting a $25,000 award to the
Alliance for Affordable Energy); USEF 2022 Tax Return, supra note 161, at 34, 47-48, 63 (reporting a $310,000
award to the Alliance for Affordable Energy, a $160,000 award to Healthy Gulf, and a $523,750 award to Union of
Concerned Scientists); Climate Imperative Found., Dep’t of Treasury, Internal Revenue Serv., Form 990: Return of
Organization Exempt from Income Tax 34, (2021 Return) [hereinafter CIF Tax Return 2021] (reporting a $960,000
award to Ocean Conservancy and a $266,975 award to Healthy Gulf ); USEF 2021 Tax Return, supra note 163, at
47 (reporting a $125,200, award to Healthy Gulf). See also EPA 2023-24 EJTCTAC Selectees, supra note 90, at 11,
12 (listing its partner organizations).
166
CIF 2022 Tax Return, supra note 165, at 39; USEF 2022 Tax Return, supra note 161, at 39; CIF 2021 Tax
Return, supra note 165, at 41; USEF 2021 Tax Return, supra note 163.
167
WINWARD FUND, Our Services & Approach, https://www.windwardfund.org/services-and-approach/, last visited
Oct. 30, 2024.
168
Windward Fund, Dep’t of Treasury, Internal Revenue Serv., Form 990: Return of Organization Exempt from
Income Tax 35 (2022 Return) [hereinafter Windward Fund 2022 Tax Return].
169
WINDWARD FUND, supra note 167.
170
WINDWARD FUND, Project Directory, https://www.windwardfund.org/project-directory/ (last visited Oct. 30,
2024).

34
particularly active in advocating for the replacement of gas stoves with electric ones.171

Incidentally, a coalition of organizations that includes Rewiring America, Power Forward

Communities,172 also received a $2 billion award from the EPA under its National Climate

Investment Fund Program within the $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.173 Yet again,

the Biden-Harris administration financially rewarded another organization espousing its same

policy views.

The Windward Fund has made larger awards to several EPA environmental justice

program selectees and partners. To highlight some of the larger ones, the Deep South Center for

Environmental Justice pulled in a total of over $1 million worth of grants from them in 2021 and

2022.174 One of its partner organizations, Alliance for Affordable Energy, received $1,000,000

from them in 2021.175 In 2021, the Windward Fund also handed out $950,000 to another partner

organization under that same award, Healthy Gulf.176 EJCPS Program selectee the Nature

Conservancy received nearly $800 million from the Windward Fund in 2022.177 Another

selectee, the Maine People’s Resource Center, received two awards totaling $175,000 from 2021

to 2022.178 This fund also distributed a $600,000 to Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs in

2022.179

171
See, e.g, Letter from Ted Cruz, Ranking Member, Sen. Comm. on Commerce, Sci., and Trans., to Mr. Ari
Matusiak, Chief Exex. Officer, Rewiring America, and Lee Bodner, Board Chair, Windward Fund (Mar. 15, 2023),
available at https://www.commerce.senate.gov/services/files/E59C1199-FE2F-4276-AF94-07156E785270; Robert
Bryce, The Dark Money Behind the Gas Bans, Mar. 19, 2023, https://robertbryce.substack.com/p/the-dark-money-
behind-the-gas-bans.
172
POWER FORWARD COMMUNITIES, Who We Are, https://powerforwardcommunities.org/, Oct. 30, 2024.
173
ENVTL. PROT. AGENCY, National Clean Investment Fund, https://www.epa.gov/greenhouse-gas-reduction-
fund/national-clean-investment-fund (last visited Oct. 30, 2024).
174
Windward Fund 2022 Tax Return, supra note 168, at 38; Windward Fund, Dep’t of Treasury, Internal Revenue
Serv., Form 990: Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax 38 (2021 Return) [hereinafter Windward Fund
2021 Tax Return.
175
Windward Fund 2021 Tax Return, supra note 174, at 45.
176
Id. at 39.
177
Windward Fund 2022 Tax Return, supra note 168, at 46; EJCPS Selected Projects, supra note 93, at 6.
178
Windward Fund 2022 Tax Return, supra note 168, at 41; Windward Fund 2021 Tax Return, supra note 174, at 40.
179
Windward Fund 2022 Tax Return, supra note 168, at 41.

35
 4. Non-Federal Funding

Tax records suggest that these organizations received funding to advocate publicly for

preferred policy outcomes. For example, EJTCTAC Program selectee WE ACT collected

$800,000 in 2021 from the Climate Imperative Foundation for “federal regulatory EPA work and

CPSC electrification policies and New York buildings.”180 One of its partners, the Environmental

Protection Network, received $150,000 from the Climate Imperative Foundation in 2022 to

“support research, education and outreach about transitioning from coal to clean energy.”181

According to its 2022 tax return, the Environmental Defense Fund granted three selectees and

partner organizations funding for “Public and Government Affairs.”182 The Natural Resources

Defense Council doled out awards, including one for $728,750 to Social and Environmental

Entrepreneurs, to several selectees and partners for “env[ironmental] advocacy” between its 2021

and 2022 tax years.183 In short, many selectees and partners already have access to significant

amounts of funding to spread their messages, without the EPA supplementing it.

180
CIF 2021 Tax Return, supra note 165, at 35 (capitalization modified from original).
181
CIF 2022 Tax Return, supra note 165, at 39 (capitalization modified from original).
182
EDF 2022 Tax Return, supra note 150, at 43, 44 (reporting an $88,750 award to Black Millennials 4 Flint, an
$85,000 award to the Clean Air Council, and a $15,000 award to Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice); EJCCP
Selections, supra note 162; EJCPS Selected Projects, supra note 93, at 13; EJTCGM Selectees List, supra note 12,
at 6.
183
NRDC 2022 Tax Return, supra note 159, at 42, 46, 47, 49 (reporting a $25,000 award to the Alliance for
Affordable Energy, a $10,000 award to Blacks in Green, a $5,100 award to New Jersey Environmental Justice
Alliance, a $5,100 award to New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance, a $10,000 award to Ocean Conservancy, a
$728,750 award to Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs, and a $100,000 award to West Harlem Environmental
Action) ; Nat. Res. Def. Coun., Dep’t of Treasury, Internal Revenue Serv., Form 990: Return of Organization
Exempt from Income Tax 42, 43 46, 47, 48 (2021 Return) (reporting a $20,000 award to Blacks in Green, an
$80,000 award to Community Health Councils, a $22,000 award to Ridge to Reefs, a $1,602,500 award to Social
and Environmental Entrepreneurs, a $15,000 award to West Harlem Environmental Action). See also EJCPS
Selected Projects, supra note 93, at 11, 13, 38 (listing selected projects); EPA 2023-24 EJTCTAC Selectees, supra
note 90, at 16 (listing selected projects).

36
V. CONCLUSION

The Biden-Harris administration spent more than two years promoting grant programs

ostensibly to spark clean energy development, combat climate change, and empower

disadvantaged communities. In reality, however, it has used these programs to enrich activist

organizations to parrot its policy views and campaign for its preferred outcomes. Coupled with

the risks for waste, fraud, and abuse that already accompany environmental justice programs, it

has created a perfect opportunity for misuse of federal funds. Additionally, even if selectees use

all of this funding in an appropriate and nonbiased manner, the EPA has still channeled huge

sums towards left-leaning, activist organizations, freeing up additional resources to campaign for

their preferred outcomes.

The EPA has used yet another billion-dollar set of programs to fund its rush-to-green

agenda and attack traditional sources that are important to our all-of-the-above energy mix. This

time, it has hidden behind the goals of helping disadvantaged communities and increasing

resilience to climate change. Many selectees and partners also receive substantial resources from

wealthy activist organizations and funds as part of a complex and opaque network of wealthy

donors, nonprofits, and so-called grassroots organizations.

While federal programs can play an important role in assisting truly under-resourced

organizations and cleaning up polluted communities, they should not be funding extremist

organizations to advocate for a preferred policy agenda. Taxpayer-funded environmental cleanup

programs should not involve particular political viewpoints or specific public policy goals.

Appropriate projects would target cleaner air and water, heightened awareness of environmental

health hazards, and improved quality of life without pushing specific viewpoints or beliefs on

those they serve.

37
 The EPA’s funding decisions illustrate the need for continued rigorous oversight of these

environmental justice programs. The Committee will continue to demand answers from the EPA

and work to prevent misuse of public funding. Americans, regardless of political belief, should

also be concerned about this use of their hard-earned tax dollars. The EPA must meticulously

track use of funding not only by selectees but also partner organizations and subrecipients to

minimize the potential for abuse of these grants. However, the EPA’s willingness to hand out

money to like-minded green groups does not inspire confidence that it will hold these

organizations accountable. As such, Congress must continue the fight for transparency, both to

protect federal investments and ensure the American people know how the Biden-Harris

administration is really using their tax dollars.

38