Washington, D.C. - House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Subcommittee Chair Jeff Duncan (R-SC), and Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials Subcommittee Chair Bill Johnson (R-OH) today sent letters to the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calling on the administration to be completely transparent on its record-spending in the Infrastructure, Investment, and Jobs Act (IIJA), which is contributing to President Joe Biden’s energy and inflation crisis and making America more reliant on China.
Excerpts and highlights from the letter to DOE:
“We write regarding the Department of Energy’s (DOE) implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) enacted on Nov. 15, 2021. Under the IIJA, DOE received more than $62 billion and was authorized to create 56 new programs.
“In the first year of implementation, DOE established programs to allocate $40 billion in funding opportunities and technical assistance over the next several years. While DOE has set up various IIJA programs, only a small portion of the total funding has been awarded to date. Therefore, it is important to conduct oversight of DOE’s implementation of the massive spending authorized by the IIJA. As DOE continues to issue funding announcements, our goal is to ensure that taxpayer funds are spent responsibly and to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse."
Examples of receipts the Members are asking DOE to provide include:
* The total amount of IIJA funding by program that has been announced by DOE.
* The total amount of outstanding IIJA funding under DOE programs, as well as an explanation of how the DOE plans to allocate the taxpayer dollars.
* The total amount of IIJA funding by program that has been awarded by DOE to individual recipients.
* A list of each award made by DOE with IIJA funding by program, including the name of each recipient and any participating sub-recipients, the amount of funding obligated, and the type of award.
* An explanation of the controls, monitoring, and other oversight in place for DOE to manage awards and prevent waste, fraud, and abuse.
* If any federal funds been obligated for projects that are supported directly or indirectly by the Chinese Communist Party.
Excerpts and highlights from the letter to the EPA:
“We write regarding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) enacted on Nov. 15, 2021. Under the IIJA, the EPA received $60 billion across more than 30 programs, the largest appropriation that the Agency has ever received.
“In the first year of implementation, the EPA awarded $5.5 billion in grants, contracts, and interagency agreements. As the EPA looks to allocate the remaining $8.6 billion available for Fiscal Year (FY) 22 and the $11.2 billion available for FY 23, our goal is to ensure that taxpayer funds are spent responsibly and that effective measures are in place to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse."
Examples of receipts the Members are asking EPA to provide include:
* The total amount of IIJA funding by program that has been announced by EPA.
* The total amount of outstanding IIJA funding under EPA programs, as well as an explanation of how the EPA plans to allocate the taxpayer dollars.
* The total amount of IIJA funding by program that has been awarded by EPA to individual recipients.
* A list of each award made by EPA with IIJA funding by program, including the name of each recipient and any participating sub-recipients, the amount of funding obligated, and the type of award.
* An explanation of the controls, monitoring, and other oversight in place for EPA to manage awards and prevent waste, fraud, and abuse.
* If any federal funds been obligated for projects that are supported directly or indirectly by the Chinese Communist Party.