This blog is written by Ulman Public Policy, TCIA’s Washington, D.C.-based advocacy and lobbying partner.
On January 20, President Trump signed an executive order titled, “Unleashing American Energy,” which seeks to eliminate policies and programs that the Trump administration believes hinders American energy production. Notably, the EO also pauses the release of funding appropriated through President Biden’s climate and infrastructure laws, the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Section 2 establishes the “policy of the United States” and serves as the basis for several other sections of the EO. Specifically, Section 2 states that it is policy of the United States:
- To encourage energy production on federal lands and waters;
- To lead production of non-fuel minerals to strengthen supply chains in the US and reduce the global influence of adversarial states;
- To protect US economic and national security by ensuring an abundant supply of reliable energy;
- To ensure that all energy regulations are grounded in law;
- To eliminate the “electric vehicle (EV) mandate” and promote consumer choice by removing regulatory barriers to motor vehicle access and ensuring level regulatory playing field for consumer choice in vehicles;
- To promote consumer choice for a variety of appliance, including lightbulbs, dishwashers, washing machines, etc.;
- To ensure that global effects of a rule be reported separately from its domestic costs and benefits;
- To guarantee federal agencies provide opportunity for public comment and scientific analysis; and
- To ensure federal funding is not employed in a manner inconsistent with the EO.
Section 7 of the EO, titled “Terminating the Green New Deal,” creates uncertainty for the future of funding under the IRA. In this section, the EO directs all federal agencies to “immediately pause the disbursement of funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 or the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” which they specify includes, but is not limited to, “funds for electric vehicle charging stations made available through the National Electric Infrastructure Formula Program and the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program.” The EO then directs the agencies to “review their processes, policies, and programs for issuing grants, loans, contracts, or any other financial disbursement of such appropriated funds for consistency with the law and the policy outlined in section 2 of this order,” after which they will submit reports that detail their findings and include recommendations to enhance the agency’s alignment with Section 2. Finally, the EO states that no funds identified by the agency heads will be disbursed by an agency until the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy determine that the disbursements are consistent with the EO.
On January 21, OMB’s Acting Director issued a memorandum to the heads of federal departments and agencies to provide clarity on the section of the EO pertaining to the disbursement of IRA funds. In the memo, OMB states that the pause in disbursements “only applies to funds supporting programs, projects, or activities that may be implicated by the policy established in section 2 of the order.” Further, they explain that “funds supporting the ‘Green New Deal’ refer to any appropriations for objectives that contravene the policies established” in the EO, and that heads of agencies “may disburse funds as they deem necessary after consulting with the Office of the Management and Budget.”
While still unclear at this time, the EO and memo could have implications for the urban and community forestry program funding provided under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). As a reminder, the IRA allocated $1.5 billion for the Urban and Community Forestry Program (UCF) at the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to provide multi-year competitive grants to state or local government entities, government entities of Washington D.C. and federally-recognized tribal areas, as well as nonprofit organizations. The USFS completed the competitive grant process in September 2023 and awarded more than $1 billion of the allotted IRA funding to nearly 400 projects in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and several U.S. Territories and Tribal Nations.
The directive to pause disbursements in the EO appears broad, and the UCF funding through the IRA would appear to fall under the disbursement pause. However, it is unclear whether the agencies will deem the UCF funding as inconsistent with the EO’s policy objectives. Further guidance from USFS, OMB, and the White House is necessary to determine whether UCF funds are at risk of delay or elimination.
TCIA will keep members apprised of further updates related to UCF funding as more guidance is released from the federal government.
To learn more about TCIA’s advocacy efforts, please visit: advocacy.tcia.org.
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