The Environmental Protection Agency is racing to deliver a fortune in taxpayer money through its largest-ever climate grant program.
The surge in spending aims to reshape impoverished areas of the U.S. by financing the installation of renewable energy and improving buildings’ energy efficiency. Congress commanded that the money go out quickly, setting a strict Sept. 30 deadline that would prevent a future Trump administration from clawing it back.
But the initiative has a shoestring operating budget, and the $27 billion program is now facing charges of empty oversight and potential waste — and the prospects of a Republican feeding frenzy over President Joe Biden’s climate law if the program stumbles.
Analysts say the quick pace of handing out such a staggering amount raises an overlooked risk: the possibility of mistakes. Out of all the programs authorized in the Inflation Reduction Act, this one has the smallest amount of money allotted to hire staff and track the spending.
