Overview

• In a Fox News interview, Administrator Lee Zeldin said the EPA has canceled more than $29 billion in grants, nearly three times the agency’s roughly $10 billion annual operating budget.
• Zeldin said most cancellations target awards under the $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund created by the Inflation Reduction Act.
• He said the EPA previously found about $20 billion parked at Citibank and described pass-through arrangements that he contends reduced direct oversight of spending.
• As an example, he cited Power Forward Communities receiving a $2 billion award after reporting $100 in 2023, with a grant term requiring budget-training completion within 90 days even as spending could start within 21 days.
• Zeldin pointed to reviewer concerns over executive pay and project costs, highlighting salary figures of $800,000 for a CEO and $450,000 for a COO, and questioned Appalachian Community Capital’s plans and limited disbursements as lawsuits over the cancellations proceed.