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• The Trump administration has canceled or frozen over $29 billion in community environmental and renewable energy grants.
• This was confirmed by an analysis from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), which tracked 910 grants and sub-grants from 12 programs funded by the Inflation Reduction Act.
• According to the NRDC analysis, of the $37 billion slated for these programs, only $159 million has been awarded, while $9 billion has been canceled and another $20 billion remains frozen.
• An EPA spokesperson stated that the actions were taken to “slam the brakes on the green gravy train” and stop the “waste and abuse” of taxpayer money.
• A U.S. District Court judge recently dismissed a lawsuit challenging the cancellations, though an appeal has been filed.
• The grants were intended to support community-level work and were part of the Biden administration’s Justice40 pledge, which aimed to direct 40% of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities.
• One example cited is the Chicago non-profit, People for Community Recovery, which had a $2.8 million grant canceled after receiving only $32,000.