In a video posted on X, Administrator Lee Zeldin said the EPA would revoke contracts for a still-emerging “green bank” that is set to fund tens of thousands of projects.
The program, approved under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, is formally known as the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, but is more commonly called the green bank. Two initiatives, worth $14 billion and $6 billion respectively, are the main targets of Zeldin's move.
Republicans in Congress have called the green bank a “slush fund” and voiced concern over how the money will be used and whether there will be sufficient accountability and transparency. The Republican-controlled House approved a bill last year to repeal the green bank and other parts of Biden’s climate agenda. The bill was blocked in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Zeldin, in the video posted Wednesday night, said there will be “zero tolerance of any waste and abuse” at the EPA under his administration. He cited “an extremely disturbing video” on X that features a former EPA staffer stating that the Biden administration was “tossing gold bars off the Titanic” in order to spend billions of taxpayer dollars before President Donald Trump took office.
“The days of irresponsibly shoveling boatloads of cash to far-left activist groups in the name of environmental justice and climate equity are over,” Zeldin said. “I’ve directed my team to find your gold bars, and they found them. Now we will get them back inside of control of government as we pursue next steps."
