Following an executive order issued by President Donald Trump last week requiring federal agencies to halt funding for two major laws passed during the Biden administration, the White House has issued a clarification on the order.
The order, titled “Unleashing American Energy,” sought to align funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) of 2021 and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 with the administration’s new energy policy.
The order created uncertainty for both planned and ongoing infrastructure projects across the U.S. That confusion prompted the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to issue guidance clarifying that the pause applies specifically to programs, projects or activities that may conflict with the administration’s energy objectives. Specifically, that includes initiatives related to electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure like the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program and the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program.
The clarification reads in part:
This pause only applies to funds supporting programs, projects, or activities that may be implicated by the policy established in Section 2 of the order. This interpretation is consistent with section 7’s heading (“Terminating the Green New Deal”) and its reference to the “law and the policy outlined in section 2 of the order.
For the purposes of implementing section 7 of the Order, funds supporting the “Green New Deal” refer to any appropriations for objectives that contravene the policies established in section 2. Agency heads may disburse funds as they deem necessary after consulting with the Office of Management and Budget.
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) reports that the Federal Highway Association (FHWA) has resumed approving new projects under the Highway Trust Fund formula programs and repaying state departments of transportation for work already done.
“There was some initial concern that the ‘Unleashing American Energy’ executive order issued by President Trump was going roll back spending in every program within the IIJA and IRA,” said Jim Tymon, executive director of AASHTO. “We had a great discussion with both career staff at USDOT as well as political leadership and it is very clear that isn’t the case. It is not as broad as what many initially thought.”
Photo courtesy Pi.1415926535, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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