Trump's Attempted Funding Freeze Was Blocked. So Why Are Billions in Grants for Solar Still Locked Up?
Federal Practice attorney Robert Bradner was quoted in a Boston Globe article examining the situation facing the Solar for All program, whose beneficiaries find themselves unable to access funds following executive orders halting federal funding for various grants and loans. The initiative, administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), awards grants to help with the construction of solar panels in low-income and disadvantaged communities, contributing to larger efforts to combat climate change while lowering energy costs for cash-strapped neighborhoods. Once the executive orders were issued, states such as Massachusetts, along with other partner organizations, were denied access to the online platforms used to distribute the funding, even after multiple judges blocked the attempts to turn off the spigot. Mr. Bradner characterized the administration's targeting of funds already under contract a "pretty extreme step" and questioned the legality of such a move.
"There is definitely a question as to whether they have the legal authority to do this," he remarked.
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