U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican from West Virginia, has recently disclosed that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has granted a substantial $50 million to the Climate Justice Alliance.
This allocation was made possible through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a piece of legislation that Democrats have hailed as the most significant climate bill in history. However, Capito has raised concerns about the recipient of this grant, stating that the Climate Justice Alliance "engages in pro-Hamas, anti-Israel, and anti-Semitic activities."
Capito's revelation came on Tuesday when she announced that a member of her staff had uncovered the EPA's grant to the Climate Justice Alliance. The Senator expressed her dismay at the EPA's spending decisions, stating, "Time and again when EPA officials come before our committee, they say 'if only we had more money, more resources, more staff.' This is what theyre spending it on?" Capito further criticized the grant, stating, "Many of us warned of the waste, fraud, and abuse. No one could have dreamed it could be this bad."
Capito's concerns stem from the content found on the Climate Justice Alliance's website and social media platforms, which she claims depict anti-Semitic, anti-Israel, and pro-Hamas imagery. She cited one specific instance of a bulldozer breaking through a fence during a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.
The Senator further criticized the group's radical initiatives, stating, If you dig deeper they want to defund the police, defund the military, either themor their affiliateswant to have very radical, drastic initiatives that I think are anti-American, and they certainly are anti-Israel and anti-Semitic. The Climate Justice Alliance has attempted to link climate issues with the conflict in Israel, arguing that "colonized places" are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis and that restoring indigenous sovereignty could alleviate these issues.
Capito questioned whether the Climate Justice Alliance would use the grant for environmental cleanup or for funding terrorism. She assured that the Environment and Public Works Committee would continue to track the allocation of American taxpayer dollars.
The Climate Justice Alliance has stated that they intend to use the grant to confront environmental harms, strengthen the environmental justice movement, mitigate climate change effects, support local communities, and pilot co-governance between the EPA and communities most affected by environmental injustice and the climate crisis.
The IRA, which facilitated this grant, was created in July 2022 by Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, in collaboration with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer from New York. Despite his role in its creation, Manchin has criticized the implementation of the IRA. The White House has praised the IRA, stating, "The Inflation Reduction Act is a transformative law that is helping the United States meet its climate goals and strengthen energy security, investing in America to create good-paying jobs, reducing energy and health care costs for families, and making the tax code fairer."
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