Despite an internal directive and pressure from lawmakers, funding for several key Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) programs remains on hold. An internal EPA memo issued Tuesday directed agency officials to “enable the obligation” of funds under the bipartisan infrastructure law and Inflation Reduction Act that had been paused by the Trump administration since it took office. The memo cited a federal court ruling that barred agencies from enforcing any remaining elements of the administration’s spending freeze.
However, the EPA has not provided information on which programs have been unfrozen, leading to confusion among grant recipients and lawmakers. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee, expressed frustration, stating, “It’s hard to tell what is incompetence and what is confusion and what is basically contemptuous trickery. But it does seem that they say one thing, and then the funds don’t move.”
While some programs, such as the brownfields remediation program funded by the infrastructure law, have resumed disbursing funds following intervention from lawmakers, others remain inaccessible. For instance, the portal for the EPA’s $5 billion Clean School Bus program remains inaccessible, preventing recipients from accessing funds for projects like purchasing new electric buses.
The ongoing freeze has significant implications for various environmental initiatives, including efforts to reduce pollution and promote clean energy. Lawmakers from both parties continue to press the administration to release the funds to ensure that critical projects can proceed.
The situation remains fluid, with stakeholders awaiting further clarification from the EPA and the administration on the status of the frozen funds.
