Sanders, Clark rally to restore clean energy funding
BURLINGTON, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) – Vermont’s senior senator was back in his home state on Friday – to rally for a program he helped create.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) partnered with the state’s top prosecutor, Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark to talk about Solar for All – with the duo saying the president needs to keep his promises to work for people and the planet.
They discussed the actions that need to be taken to restore the $7 billion in Solar for All funding that the Trump administration recently cancelled – more than $50 million of which would have gone to Vermont.
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Solar for All is a federal initiative created by Sanders and passed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Its goal is to expand access to affordable solar energy, particularly for low- and middle-income households.
Vermont received over $62 million for this project, but had 90% of it swept away. The Trump administration cancelled funding for the program with an executive order in July, calling solar energy “unreliable and expensive.” He has also called scientific research on climate change a “scam.”
“Donald Trump is not only wrong, but he is dangerously wrong when he calls climate change a hoax,” said Sanders Friday.
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According to Sanders and Clark, revoking funds approved by Congress by executive order is illegal, and federal agencies don’t have the authority to cancel congressionally appropriated funding for political or ideological reasons.
“President Trump is attempting to consolidate power in the executive branch, attempting to take the power away from Congress,” said Clark. “He’s attempting to channel money away from renewable energy and towards fossil fuels. No surprise he loves the fossil fuel companies and the industry because Trump is living in the past.”
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Sanders said that state governments and regular citizens across the country are fighting back. Last week he led 31 of his colleagues in the Senate in calling on EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to immediately restore Solar for All and to slash utility bills for people in Vermont and throughout the country.
Since Trump returned to office in January, the state of Vermont has filed 31 lawsuits against his administration.
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