Trust for Public Land Statement on Proposed House Cuts to EPA’s Environmental and Climate Justice Grants Program

Today, the House Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies released its draft FY24 funding bill. The bill proposes a 39 percent cut to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and cuts almost half of the funding for the Environmental and Climate Justice Grants program, proposing to rescind $1.353 billion.

The Environmental and Climate Justice Grants program, created through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), is intended to address disproportionate environmental and public health harms related to pollution and climate change in historically disadvantaged and low-income communities. The program would help vulnerable communities to become more resilient to climate change and improve quality of life for millions of U.S. residents.

Trust for Public Land’s Bill Lee, SVP of Policy and Advocacy, issued the following statement:

“The cuts to the EPA, and specifically to the Environmental and Climate Justice Grants, are dangerous. We’ve just lived through the hottest month in the history of the planet. Low-income and historically disadvantaged communities are hit first and worst by deadly heat waves and extreme flooding, yet the House’s cuts target the program that is critical to improving the climate resilience of those same neighborhoods. We cannot afford to backtrack on the commitments made in the Inflation Reduction Act and Trust for Public Land looks forward to working with the Senate to reverse the House’s drastic cuts.”

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About Trust for Public Land

Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit that works to connect everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. As a leader in equitable access to the outdoors, TPL works with communities to create parks and protect public land where they are needed most. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 4 million acres of public land, created more than 5,364 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, raised $93 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected nearly 9.4 million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit tpl.org.