Lucio Vasquez / Houston Public Media
Congressional Democrats are urgent the U.S. Environmental Safety Company (EPA) to revive funding to a program increasing the deployment of photo voltaic vitality for working households. The transfer follows Harris County’s lawsuit in opposition to President Donald Trump’s administration to revive this system.
The EPA introduced on Aug. 7 that it might terminate the Photo voltaic for All program and take again $7 billion in funds from grant recipients, saying the Trump administration’s rescission bundle required it to take action. Houston Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher performed a key position in passing this system into regulation three years in the past.
“This can be a large, necessary renewable vitality program, and right here in Texas, Harris County led a statewide coalition that received one of many 5 largest awards of any group within the nation,” Fletcher mentioned. “It acquired a $250 million grant to ship photo voltaic and battery storage to just about 30,000 households in Texas.”
Fletcher careworn that this system was designed to create 1000’s of well-paying jobs and to spice up American manufacturing, along with making {the electrical} grid extra dependable.
“All of that was taking place right here in Texas, in Houston, in Port Arthur, and in Waco,” she mentioned. “Coaching packages have been already underway to certify Texans in photo voltaic set up and vitality effectivity. So, we’re speaking about advantages for shoppers, advantages for staff, and advantages for our surroundings and our economic system.”
Fletcher co-led 100 Home Democrats in sending a letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin demanding he restore this system and reinstate the grant funding. Fletcher mentioned Zeldin’s workplace has but to reply.
“This letter is responding to one thing even greater than the Photo voltaic for All program,” Fletcher mentioned. “It’s about responding to the Trump administration’s continued efforts to consolidate energy and overrule the opposite branches of presidency, and that may be Congress and the courts. What we see right here is yet one more instance of the administration ignoring or rejecting the regulation that Congress has handed and packages that Congress has put into place for no cause or for causes that they simply do not agree with it.”
