A dustup over small rural energy projects is adding to the argument that the President Donald Trump’s spending freeze is hitting his own allies.
Congressional Democrats complained in recent days that the Agriculture Department owes farmers and small businesses — the anchors of red-state rural America — hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid grants through the Rural Energy for America Program, which pays for energy efficiency projects such as solar panels, wind turbines and biogas systems.
While there’s some sign the logjam is about to break — the Agriculture Department said Tuesday that it will soon announce an update on REAP grants — the skirmish has given Democrats additional ammunition for their attacks on the administration’s sweeping approach to spending cuts.
“The administration’s move to freeze REAP funds has caused chaos that will harm Americans across the country,” said House Appropriations ranking member Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut and Agriculture Appropriations ranking member Sanford Bishop of Georgia in a letter last week to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
