EPA Administrator Likens Biden-Era Green Energy Scheme to "Throwing Gold Bars Off the Titanic"
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has sharply criticized the Biden administration’s green energy program, characterizing it as a reckless waste of taxpayer dollars that was distributed without adequate oversight or accountability.
In a Sunday appearance on Fox News Channel, Zeldin likened the $2 billion grant awarded to Power Forward Communities, a climate-focused nonprofit with ties to former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, to "throwing gold bars off the Titanic."
"This group in 2023 only received $100," Zeldin told host Maria Bartiromo. "This isn’t even like it’s a longtime group that has some reputation of handling large budgets. They received $2 billion in 2024.
Zeldin highlighted the glaring inconsistencies in the grant agreement, which required Power Forward Communities to distribute the entire $2 billion within 21 days but simultaneously gave them 90 days to complete a training program on budget development.
"I would say that any entity that needs training on how to develop a budget shouldn’t be actually distributing money before they take that training, and they certainly shouldn’t be receiving $2 billion to be distributed that rapidly," Zeldin asserted.
The EPA’s recent revelation that the Biden administration allowed just eight entities to distribute a total of $20 billion at their discretion has raised concerns about self-dealing and conflicts of interest.
"They were throwing gold bars off the Titanic. We found the gold bars. We want them back," Zeldin declared, referring to the efforts being made to recover the misallocated funds.
Zeldin indicated that the Justice Department is collaborating with Citibank to reclaim the funding and that multiple agencies are working together to guarantee that taxpayer dollars are not squandered.
The EPA’s scrutiny of the Biden administration’s green energy program is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to reverse what it views as excessive environmental regulations and government overreach. President Trump has already signed an executive order directing agencies to identify and eliminate regulations that violate constitutional principles.
The actions taken by the EPA and the Trump administration have drawn criticism from environmental groups and Democratic lawmakers, who argue that these measures will weaken environmental protections and harm the fight against climate change.
Despite these objections, the EPA and the Trump administration remain committed to ensuring that taxpayer funds are spent wisely and that government programs are implemented with proper oversight and accountability.
Additional Details
- Power Forward Communities is a climate-focused nonprofit organization that was founded in 2019.
- The organization has received a total of $2.1 billion in federal grants, including the $2 billion grant from the Biden administration.
- Stacey Abrams is a Democratic politician who served as the Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives from 2011 to 2017.
- Abrams unsuccessfully ran for Governor of Georgia in 2018 and 2022.
- The EPA is currently investigating the Biden administration’s green energy program to ensure that taxpayer funds were spent in accordance with the law.
