One of the last actions the Biden-Harris administration will take may be to pay tens of millions of dollars to pro-Palestinian nonprofits that distributed protest materials praising Hamas' October 7, 2023 invasion of Israel.
EPA in December 2023 selected Climate Justice Alliance (CJA), an environmental justice nonprofit based in Berkeley, California, receives a $50 million grant despite the organization. attractive In anti-Israel advocacy after the October 7 attack by Hamas, promote The “defund the police” movement. Almost a year later, the EPA still hasn't moved forward with obligating the CJA grant, and pro-Palestinian nonprofits are demanding the agency spend the cash before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. are. (Related: Biden-Harris administration sends 'environmental justice' cash to left-wing activists, details from House report)
“Now more than ever, IRA promises are kept. [Inflation Reduction Act] It must be delivered on time, and the mandated funds that the Climate Justice Alliance is waiting for should be released by December,” said CJA Executive Director KD Chavez. I wrote in a press release Wednesday.
Join us in asking the Environmental Protection Agency to mandate funding now.#OurResourcesOur Community
It is up to us to support each other and achieve a just transition and the prosperous future that we and future generations deserve. Unity forever! – KD Chavez pic.twitter.com/AhjkuYMmew— Climate Justice Alliance (CJA) 🌻 (@CJAOurPower) November 20, 2024
“We know that the coming years will pose multiple threats to frontline and fenceline communities,” Chavez said in a statement. video CJA posted on X. “We can alleviate some of these threats through the Inflation Reduction Act’s Thriving Communities Grants program.”
Chavez added: “Unity forever.”
Trump administration may cancel surplus funds
CJA's $50 million grant is part of EPA's $600 million Environmental Justice and Thriving Communities Grant (EJTCGM). program Under the Inflation Control Act's $3 billion Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant regulations.
The EPA's selection also includes recipients who operate in China under the supervision of the Chinese Communist Party's foreign influence operations, support open borders, and provide funding to organizations. blacklisted Extensive coverage of the program by the Daily Caller News Foundation has criticized U.S. credit card companies over their financial support for Palestinian terrorist organizations and advocated cutting off funding to the U.S. military.
According to DCNF's study of U.S. spending subsidy obligations, CJA is the only nonprofit organization among the 11 announced recipients of EPA's EJTCGM program that did not receive a portion of the subsidy. If the agency does not formally obligate the $600 million in grants by Jan. 20, the Trump administration could refuse to award the remaining funds.
“There's no reason for them to be like that.” [the Trump EPA] We cannot reconsider how the funds are being used in accordance with the law,” Darren Bakst, director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute's Center on Energy and Environment, said in an interview with DCNF.
“They need to consider carefully whether that money is actually being properly disbursed. “We need to make sure that there is no, and that is a serious concern with all IRA spending from the EPA,” Bakst added.
The pro-Palestinian nonprofit came under intense scrutiny from Congress in May following comments from Republican West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito. discovery “Palestinian art in protest” collection The CJA website featured images glorifying Hamas' brutal invasion of Israel and justifying the violent resistance of Palestinians.
Republican West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, speaks about the Climate Justice Alliance's “anti-Israel” views during a May 21, 2024 Senate Republican leadership press conference. (Photo by Capito's Office)
“If you dig deeper, they want to defund the police, they want to defund the military. They or their affiliates want to take very extreme and drastic initiatives that are anti-American and , which I think is certainly anti-Israel and anti-Semitic,” Capito said during his speech. Press conference.
“Policing has been and will continue to be used as a force to continually oppress marginalized people and communities,” CJA, April 23, 2021. press release state. “We want to end all policing, all prisons, and the freedom and freedom of our people.”
Non-profit organizations also phone We call for the abolition of all fossil fuel production and oppose nuclear and hydroelectric power. collect Broad bipartisan support.
“One of the highest scoring applicants”
According to CJA's press release issued Wednesday, CJA was named the “best environmental justice” grantmaker of all nonprofits that applied to serve as an “environmental justice” grantmaker to distribute IRA funds to sub-grantees. He was one of the applicants for the score.
“Political party affiliation plays no role in the evaluation, scoring, or selection of grant writers,” an EPA spokesperson said. said FOX News in May.
The agency could face a lawsuit from the CJA if it tries to break a contract agreement with a nonprofit group that would withhold $50 million in incentives, Secretary Michael Regan told the House of Representatives during a July oversight. Apparently he told the lawmakers hearing.
🔥 🔥 🔥
Congressman Mace criticizes EPA Administrator Michael Regan for refusing to acknowledge his allocation of $50 million to an anti-police, pro-Hamas climate justice group.
“Does this sign protect the environment?” pic.twitter.com/8f5YIxMtPK
— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) July 10, 2024
“We have to go through the legal process to find out if they're in the restricted area or outside of the restricted area because there could be a lawsuit anyway,” Regan said. Ta. “They have undergone a very thorough evaluation.”
EPA spokesperson said E&E News on Wednesday reported that the agency is still considering CJA's $50 million award. EPA did not respond to DCNF's inquiry regarding the status of the award obligation.
“This is a larger attack on civil society and our democratic grantmaking and due process in environmental work,” Chavez said in an interview with E&E News on Wednesday, adding that nonprofits also “depend on the point of view. He claimed that there was “discrimination”.
“So I just hope they do the right thing and that this doesn't set a pretty big precedent for all the future progressive money that goes into the next administration,” Chavez added.
‘Who defines the EJ project?’ We do it.”
C.J.A. partner with In collaboration with seven other entities, pay Up to 350,000 will be awarded under $50 million in grants to “community-based organizations” in 12 western U.S. states, Alaska and Hawaii in a program called the United Network for Impact, Change and Equity in Environmental Justice Communities. A supplementary prize of USD will be awarded (UNITE-EJ).
One of CJA's UNITE-EJ partners is the NDN Collective, an “indigenous rights” advocacy group that frequently protests Israel's use of force against Hamas and Hezbollah and supports defunding the police and the U.S. military. be. (Related: Biden-Harris Interior Department tells citizens to use terrorist sympathizers as 'resources')
Another UNITE-EJ partner is the Amalgamated Foundation. gave DCNF's review of the AGJ's most recent tax returns shows it will donate $150,000 to the Alliance for Global Justice in 2022. AGC is a financial sponsor of front groups that fund Palestinian terrorist organizations specified It has been recognized by the US government as a “foreign terrorist organization.”
Members of the Climate Justice Alliance march in a pro-Palestinian protest in Washington, D.C., in response to Hamas' invasion of Israel on November 4, 2023. (Photo by Michael Malcolm, People's Council for Justice Media)
“Is this organization really going to fund cleaning the water, cleaning the soil, cleaning the air?” Capito asked at a May press conference about CJA's anti-Israel advocacy work. “Or are we going to fund something like the protests that happened in Hart? [Senate Office Building] Some people were arrested just a few weeks ago? ”
Capito was referring to CJA's affiliate group Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, which frequently organizes illegal anti-Israel protests on U.S. government property.
GGJA is protest In December 2023, in the Senate Hart Office Building, he spoke out against giving military aid to Israel, the same month the EPA named CJA as the recipient of $50 million in taxpayer dollars. Monday, GGJA I participated Several other pro-Palestinian advocacy groups are also protesting in support of Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders' resolution to halt U.S. arms sales to Israel.
🚨BREAKING: Dozens of protesters from across the country block Prime Minister Netanyahu's motorcade, sending a message that war criminals are not welcome here! We call on Congress to build a platform for genocide. and demand that they stop arming Israel. #Prime Minister Netanyahu arrested #ShutItDown4Palestine #ceasefireNOW pic.twitter.com/79d3bdDF6u
— GGJ (@ggjalliance) July 24, 2024
“Who defines EJ? [environmental justice] project? We do,” says UNITE-EJ Program Director Courtney Brown. said At a panel discussion hosted by CJA in New York City in September. “We have an opportunity to define what environmental justice is and what is funded through it. ”
“Climate justice calls us to love people and the planet. Now is the time to stand up and join the fight for the liberation of Palestine,” CJA said. statement Celebrating the group's participation in the pro-Palestinian protests in Washington DC on November 4, 2023
“We have a direct impact of more than $330 million.”
In addition to the $50 million in awards that CJA may continue to receive, the nonprofit organization will also influence the disbursement of more than $270 million in IRA funds through more than 100 organizations. Member organization Be a direct recipient or partner of another grant.
“To put this public funding moment into context, I would also say that the CJA is an alliance,” Chavez said. said During a panel discussion in September. “There are people who are directly involved in public funding with IRA funding, so [EPA] Regions 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10. That means more than $330 million is now directly impacting the flow to frontline communities. ” (Related: EPA Administrator Claims EPA Hasn't Transferred 'A Dime' to Hard-Left Organizations – But There's a $50 Million Question)
The Environmental Protection Agency is on track to formally oblige most, if not all, of the announced “environmental justice” funding by President Trump's inauguration, officials said. statement National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi told Politico in September:
“I don't want to see any organization that expresses bigotry or any kind of racist behavior or discrimination. I don't want to see any organization take money from the federal government,” Regan said during a House oversight hearing in July. It's an abomination.” Members of Parliament.
CJA did not respond to DCNF's request for comment.
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