Biden Hits Gas Pedal on Wasteful Spending
The WasteWatcher
As a new administration and Congress heads to Washington, the Biden administration is pushing as much money as possible toward its favored pet causes. End of year federal government spending sprees are not unusual; however, the current effort is not only spending on steroids but also an effort to thwart the will of the people prior to handing over the reins of government to the incoming Trump administration.
Bidenomics played a significant role in the November elections, which should have informed the current administration that its spending policies had less public support than they thought. Instead of winding down, federal agencies have been reenergized to ensure that programs and projects from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and other laws are getting funded before the administration leaves town.
To help protect green energy program funding provided through the IRA from being rescinded or simply not spent by President-elect Trump, the Biden administration announced on December 3, 2024, that it has awarded more than $100 billion in grants for the deployment of more green energy projects across the county, because once the “funds are obligated, they are protected. … They are subject to the terms of the contract, so when those contracts are signed and executed, this becomes a matter of contract law more than matter of politics.”
Another pet green project, which was included in the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act (IIJA), is the Department of Energy’s $30 billion electrification of America’s vehicles through the building of electrical vehicle infrastructure and the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) $2.5 billion Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program and $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Forma Program.
DOT is not wasting any time shoveling the funding out the door for these projects. From the $7.5 billion allocated for building an electric vehicle charging infrastructure nationwide, the administration has issued $521 million in grants for EV charging and alternative-fueling infrastructure in 29 states. Yet only 214 chargers are currently operational in 12 states, with 24,800 projects using some of this funding under construction. The post-election effort to push out funding for Biden’s green energy programs that the voters clearly have messaged to the administration that they do not want is unwarranted and should be stopped.
The 119th Congress should exercise its oversight to look for the next Solyndra, Fisker, and similar examples of money being wasted on green energy projects. As noted by CAGW in 2023, “The IRA funds are being provided under the guise of revitalizing local economies, but they are really intended to accelerate the shift to green energy across the country.” It seems the Biden administration has decided to hit the gas pedal to ensure as much money as possible from the IRA and the IIJA is spent before President Trump takes his oath of office in January.
Shoveling money out the door to “protect” the funding for favored projects does a disservice to taxpayers. And it makes determining the effectiveness of green energy spending, among many other expenditures, a good issue for the Department of Government Efficiency.