CATHY McMORRIS RODGERS, WASHINGTON FRANK PALLONE, JR.

, NEW JERSEY
CHAIR RANKING MEMBER
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

Congress of the United States

House of Representatives
COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE
2125 RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING
WASHINGTON, DC 20515-6115
Majority (202) 225-3641
Minority (202) 225-2927

May 13, 2024

The Honorable Michael S. Regan

Administrator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Mail Code 1101A
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.
Washington, DC 20460

Dear Administrator Regan,

We write to you regarding the Biden administration’s use of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction
Fund (GGRF) to enrich political allies.

As you know, the Committee has questioned how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
planned to distribute the $20 billion available to selected recipients under the new GGRF program,
including the $14 billion for the National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF). Specifically, the
Committee cited warnings that the EPA could use these large awards to subsidize favored
organizations.1 At a January 30, 2024, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing,
Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers highlighted examples of former Biden administration
officials and Democratic campaign staff in leadership roles of organizations vying for NCIF
funding.2 Predictably, the EPA’s April 4, 2024, announcement of NCIF recipients confirmed our fears
that this program would funnel taxpayer dollars to political allies.

Among the selectees, the Committee has identified the following individuals who have served
Democratic presidential administrations, other Democratic elected officials, or Democratic political
organizations:

• Phil Angelides, Board Member, Climate United: Former California State Treasurer,
Democratic California gubernatorial candidate, and Chairman of the California Democratic
Party.3

1
Letter from Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Chair, House Energy and Commerce Committee et al., to Michael Regan,
Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency (Oct. 18, 2023).
2
Fighting the Misuse of Biden’s Green Bank Giveaway: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Oversight and
Investigations of the H. Comm. on Energy and Commerce, 118th Cong. (2024) (questioning by Cathy McMorris
Rodgers, Chair, H. Comm. on Energy and Commerce.
3
CLIMATE UNITED FUND, Phil Angelides, https://weareclimateunited.org/team/phil-angelides (last visited Apr. 26,
2024).
Letter to the Honorable Michael S. Regan
Page 2

• Anthony Foxx, Board Member, Climate United: Former Secretary of Transportation under
President Obama.4

• Patrice Willoughby, Board Member, Climate United: Former Obama administration staff.5

• William J. Barber III, Director of Equitable Investment and Energy Justice, Coalition for
Green Capital: Former advisor to Democratic Governor Roy Cooper.6

• Reed Hundt, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Coalition for Green Capital: Former
Federal Communications Commission Chairman (nominated by President Clinton and a
member of the Clinton and Obama transition teams).7

• Daniela Nyiri, Senior Strategist, Coalition for Green Capital: Former Deputy Field Director
for a Democratic congressional candidate.8

• Donnel Baird, Board of Directors, Coalition for Green Capital: Former voter contact director
for Obama for America.9

• Julie Greene Collier, Board of Directors, Coalition for Green Capital: Former Executive
Office of the President staff member under President Biden and senior-level Democratic
National Committee staff member.10

• David Hayes, Board of Directors, Coalition for Green Capital: Former Special Assistant to
the President for Climate Policy for President Biden, climate policy advisor for the Biden-
Harris Transition, and Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer of the Department of
the Interior for Presidents Obama and Clinton.11

4
CLIMATE UNITED FUND, Anthony Foxx, https://weareclimateunited.org/team/anthony-foxx (last visited Apr. 26,
2024).
5
CLIMATE UNITED FUND, Patrice Willoughy, https://weareclimateunited.org/team/patrice-willoughby (last visited
Apr. 26, 2024); AM. UNIV., SINE INST. OF POLICY AND POLITICS, Spring 2024 Fellows,
https://www.american.edu/sine-institute/2024-fellows.cfm (last visited Apr. 26, 2024).
6
COAL. FOR GREEN CAPITAL, William J. Barber III, https://coalitionforgreencapital.com/team-member/william-
barber-iii/ (last visited Apr. 26, 2024).
7
COAL. FOR GREEN CAPITAL, Reed Hundt, https://coalitionforgreencapital.com/team-member/reed-hundt/ (last
visited April 26, 2024); TYCHE PARTNERS, Reed Hundt, https://tychepartners.com/reed-hundt/ (last visited Apr. 26,
2024).
8
COAL. FOR GREEN CAPITAL, Daniela Nyiri, https://coalitionforgreencapital.com/team-member/daniela-nyiri/ (last
visited Apr. 26, 2024).
9
COAL. FOR GREEN CAPITAL, Donnel Baird, https://coalitionforgreencapital.com/board-of-directors/donnel-baird/
(last visited Apr. 26, 2024).
10
COAL. FOR GREEN CAPITAL, Julie Greene Collier, https://coalitionforgreencapital.com/board-of-directors/julie-
greene-collier/ (last visited Apr. 26, 2024).
11
COAL. FOR GREEN CAPITAL, David Hayes, https://coalitionforgreencapital.com/board-of-directors/david-hayes/
(last visited Apr. 26, 2024).
Letter to the Honorable Michael S. Regan
Page 3

• Richard Kauffman, Board of Directors, Coalition for Green Capital: New York Chairman of
Energy and Finance under Democratic Governor and Senior Advisor to the Secretary of
Energy under President Obama.12

• Cecilia Martinez, Board of Directors, Coalition for Green Capital: Former Senior Director for
Environmental Justice at the White House Council on Environmental Quality under President
Biden.13

• Susan Tierney, Board of Directors, Coalition for Green Capital: Former Assistant Secretary of
Policy at the Department of Energy under President Clinton.14

• Shaun Donovan, Chair, Board of Directors, Power Forward Communities: Former Secretary
of Department of Housing and Urban Development and Director of the Office of
Management and Budget under President Obama.15

• Ari Matusiak, Vice Chair, Board of Directors, Power Forward Communities: Former Special
Assistant to the President and Director of Private Sector Engagement under President
Obama.16

• Phyllis Caldwell, Board of Directors, Power Forward Communities: Former Chief of the
Homeownership Preservation Office at the Department of Treasury under President Obama.17

Other individuals with ties to Democratic politics also lead organizations partnering with these
recipients.18 While the EPA insists it had ethics rules and a fair competition policy in place, doling
out billions of dollars to organizations led by politically connected individuals undermines public
trust in the legitimacy of the federal financial awards process. It also furthers the concern that this
program was created as an excuse to hand out funding to political allies.

12
COAL. FOR GREEN CAPITAL, Richard Kauffman, https://coalitionforgreencapital.com/board-of-directors/richard-
kauffman/ (last visited Apr. 26, 2024); YALE CTR. FOR BUS. AND THE ENV’T, Richard L. Kauffman,
https://cbey.yale.edu/our-community/richard-l-kauffman (last visited Apr. 26, 2024).
13
COAL. FOR GREEN CAPITAL, Cecilia Martinez, https://coalitionforgreencapital.com/board-of-directors/cecilia-
martinez/ (last visited Apr. 26, 2024).
14
COAL. FOR GREEN CAPITAL, Susan Tierney, https://coalitionforgreencapital.com/board-of-directors/dr-susan-
tierney/ (last Apr. 26, 2024).
15
Power Forward Communities, Fact Sheet: First-of-its Kind U.S. Housing Decarbonization Coalition Launches,
Oct. 12, 2023, https://a-us.storyblok.com/f/1014573/x/e9b891a5fa/power-forward-communities-fact-sheet__.pdf
[hereinafter Power Forward Communities Fact Sheet]; ENTER., Sean Donovan,
https://www.enterprisecommunity.org/about/shaun-donovan (last visited Apr. 26, 2024).
16
Power Forward Communities Fact Sheet, supra note 15; REWIRING AM., Ari Matusiak,
https://www.rewiringamerica.org/ceo-ari-matusiak (last visited Apr. 26, 2024).
17
Power Forward Communities Fact Sheet, supra note 15; ENTER., Phyllis R. Caldwell,
https://www.enterprisecommunity.org/about/phyllis-r-caldwell-vice-
chair#:~:text=Phyllis%20Caldwell%20is%20an%20independent,small%20and%20emerging%20social%20enterpris
es (last visited Apr. 26, 2024); The White House: President Barack Obama, Making Home Affordable Campaign to
Help America’s Homeowners, Dec. 1, 2009, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2009/12/01/making-home-
affordable-campaign-help-america-s-homeowners (archived).
18
REWIRING AM., About Us, https://www.rewiringamerica.org/about (last visited Apr. 26, 2024) (noting additional
leadership with connections to Democratic politics).
Letter to the Honorable Michael S. Regan
Page 4

As such, the Committee requests additional information to fulfill its responsibility to conduct
oversight of this new program and its distribution of a significant amount of taxpayer dollars.

As noted by Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials Chair

Buddy Carter at a January 30, 2024, Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing, the EPA
held “nearly two dozen targeted stakeholder meetings” during the program design phase.19 Please
provide a list of all of these meetings, including the dates, names of the individuals and organizations
participating, and any related minutes or memoranda. Chair Carter made a similar request at the
hearing.20

Please provide the requested information by no later than May 28, 2024. Should you have
any questions about this request, please contact the Committee on Energy and Commerce Majority
staff at (202) 225-3641. Thank you in advance for your cooperation with this matter.

Sincerely,

________________________ __________________________
Cathy McMorris Rodgers H. Morgan Grifith
Chair Chair
House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and
Investigations

________________________
Earl L. “Buddy” Carter
Chair
Subcommittee on Environment,
Manufacturing, and Critical Materials

CC: The Honorable Frank Pallone, Ranking Member, Energy and Commerce Committee
The Honorable Kathy Castor, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
The Honorable Paul Tonko, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing,
and Critical Materials

19
ENVTL. PROT AGENCY, Engagement Opportuities, Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund,
https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-announces-initial-program-design-greenhouse-gas-reduction-fund (last
visited Apr. 29, 2024).
20
Fighting the Misuse of Biden’s Green Bank Giveaway: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Oversight and
Investigations of the H. Comm. on Energy and Commerce, 118th Cong. (2023) (questioning by Rep. Buddy Carter,
Member, House Committee on Energy and Commerce).