Congressmen Garamendi and DeSaulnier official photos
Funding cancelled because of its “DEl initiatives, ‘environmental justice’ initiatives, and conflict with the Agency’s policy of prioritizing merit, fairness, and excellence” – EPA
Also, later rescinded by Congress in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
By Cameron Niven, Communications Director, Office of Congressman John Garamendi
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Representative John Garamendi (D-CA-08) and Representative Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA-10), who each represent portions of Contra Costa County, issued the following statement after the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the government watchdog, published Garamendi’s requested report finding that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to block a $19 million Community Change Grant to Contra Costa County violated the law.
This news comes more than one year after Reps. Garamendi and DeSaulnier confronted the EPA for violating federal appropriations law and federal court injunctions by canceling a $19.1 million Community Change Grant awarded to Contra Costa County for its North Richmond Community Resilience Initiative.
“The GAO confirmed what we knew all along: President Trump’s EPA broke the law, and now I’m demanding they pay us back,” said Garamendi. “This funding was, and still is, not a suggestion. Congress mandated years ago that these funds be delivered to frontline communities like North Richmond, which, because of President Trump’s blatant abuse of the law, has continued to suffer the health impacts of extreme pollution. Not only has Trump’s EPA acted in ways that break the law, but because of its callousness and disregard for the American people, it is endangering the health and wellbeing of some of our nation’s most vulnerable residents. The people of North Richmond deserve better. Trump took away their money, and now they need to give it back.”
“Over a year ago, I was proud to stand with Congressman Garamendi in calling on the Trump Administration to reverse course as they illegally clawed back over $19 million in federal funding for environmental protection efforts from Contra Costa County,” said DeSaulnier. “Now the GAO, an independent government watchdog agency, has confirmed the Administration violated the law in stealing this money and we demand it be reinstated immediately.”
Background
In spring 2025, the EPA terminated a $19.1 million Community Change Grant awarded to Contra Costa County for its North Richmond Community Resilience Initiative. The initiative is one of 105 applications selected for the Inflation Reduction Act’s Community Change Grants (CCG) Program announced by the Biden Administration in December 2024, just at the end of his term, which was the largest national investment in environmental and climate justice (ECJ).
The $19.1 million in funding was allocated directly to the community for the initiative, which aimed to build a resilience center for emergencies and natural disasters and to plant 65 trees along the Verde Elementary schoolyard to shield students from pollution caused by a new distribution center.
In response to the news of the cancellation, Congressman Garamendi and Congressman DeSaulnier sent a letter to Trump-appointed EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin stating that the agency flagrantly violated the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act without any explanation or due process.
In response to Garamendi and DeSaulnier’s letter, the EPA provided little to no justification for the cancellation, saying only that the agency does not support programs or organizations that promote or take part in DEI or “environmental justice” initiatives.
Congressman Garamendi then requested a report on the Trump Administration’s actions from the GAO, which published its decision on the termination of the Community Change Grants on October 7. The GAO found that the EPA violated the law and noted that Garamendi and DeSaulnier’s letter to the EPA and the agency’s response also helped inform its determination.
GAO Claims EPA Broke the Law, Congress Later Rescinded Funding
According to the GAO’s report, “In early 2025, EPA decided to terminate the ECJ subprograms, including the CCG Program, paused payments to grantees, and later terminated the CCGs. Congress subsequently rescinded the unobligated balances of amounts made available to the ECJ Program as part of Public Law 119-21 – commonly known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).
“Unless Congress has enacted a law providing otherwise, executive branch officials must take care to ensure that they prudently obligate appropriations during their period of availability. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (ICA) allows the President to withhold funds from obligation or expenditure, but only under strictly limited circumstances and only in a manner consistent with that Act.
“We find that EPA violated the ICA when the agency, without submitting a special message to Congress: (1) withheld funds from expenditure for the CCG Program after deciding to terminate the program; and (2) withheld funds from obligation by terminating the CCGs. These withholdings were impoundments subject to the ICA and not programmatic delays.
“GAO is aware of ongoing litigation involving the termination of ECJ Program grants, including CCGs. We have included the most up-to-date information related to the litigation in this decision.”
Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.
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