Topline: The Environmental Protection Agency is unable to track $651 million in grant funding after a nonprofit sent the money to credit unions across the country, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
Key facts: Inclusiv, a network of credit unions based in New York, received $1.9 billion last year from President Joe Biden’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
On Feb. 12, Inclusiv wired $651 million of the funding to 108 credit unions in 27 states and Puerto Rico, the Free Beacon found. The credit unions will use the money to fund solar panel installations, electric vehicle charging stations and more.
It’s a “significant deviation” from how EPA funds are ordinarily dispersed, agency spokeswoman Molly Vaseliou told the Free Beacon. The EPA usually selects the final recipients of grant funds to ensure money is spent without risk of fraud or waste. Now, the 108 credit unions will disperse the funds without EPA input.
The money was wired on the same day that EPA administrator Lee Zeldin announced he was investigating $20 billion of Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund money that had limited federal oversight, including Inclusiv’s funding.
It’s unclear whether Inclusiv was already aware that increased scrutiny was coming before wiring the funds. The group did not return the Free Beacon’s request for comment.
Zeldin later froze the entire $20 billion account, after Inclusiv’s money had already been wired. Climate United Fund, one of the nonprofits using the account, is now suing the EPA over its decision.
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Background: Nonprofits and other nongovernmental organizations have increased their influence over EPA spending in recent years.
Besides dispersing grant funds on their own, many nonprofits engaged in “sue-and-settle” litigation with the government. It’s a practice where an outside group sues the government and litigates the issue outside of court, resulting in a ruling that often changes the interpretation of Congressional law.
Biden spent nearly $7 million on sue-and-settle attorney fees in the first two years of his administration, which was already more than any other recent president.
Summary: Regardless of the debate over how much money should be spent on green infrastructure, any money that is dispersed should go through strict oversight.
By Jeremy Portnoy
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