During a House Energy Committee hearing last week, Rep. Kevin Mullin (D-CA) questioned EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin about a canceled grant for his community.
00:00Gentleman yields back. Now I recognize the gentleman from California, Mr. Mullen, for three minutes.
00:05Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, Mr. Administrator, for being here.
00:09East Palo Alto is a vibrant community in my district on the San Francisco Bay.
00:14The people there have an incredible spirit and history of advocating for their community.
00:19It also happens to be down the street from the Meta headquarters and Stanford University.
00:24Despite being so close to such wealth, East Palo Alto residents have struggled with a history of heavy industries being sited next to residential areas.
00:33There are over 62 toxic waste sites within the city's two and a half square miles.
00:39Not surprisingly, East Palo Alto faces challenges with air pollution.
00:44The biggest highway in the district, Highway 101, runs right through the middle of that community.
00:50The impacts of this pollution are undeniable.
00:53The community experiences significantly higher rates of asthma and respiratory disease.
00:57They have an average lifespan that's 13 years lower than the rest of San Mateo County.
01:02That's why it was such a big deal for this community when your agency last year awarded funding to a community organization to address air pollution.
01:11One local leader noted that he had, quote,
01:13residents calling me in tears saying how incredible it was to see their struggle finally recognized, end quote.
01:19Pam Jones, a resident of East Palo Alto for over 45 years, remarked that the community had been, quote,
01:25hopeful for a moment, end quote.
01:28As you know, it takes tremendous effort in organizing just to pull together a grant application.
01:33This money would have provided air purifiers to over 400 families for kids with asthma and seniors as well.
01:40This wasn't about ideology or some slogan.
01:43This was about helping children and seniors breathe easier.
01:47So, Administrator Zeldin, you canceled this grant.
01:51And I'm just wondering why you made that decision.
01:55Congressman, I don't have the details of that grant.
01:58And I had for all the subcommittee members of all of your colleagues on this committee, all the grants in their district.
02:07I would say that 10 times out of 10 or 100 times out of 100, when I look at the details of every single one of the grants that are canceled,
02:15there is something in it that conflicts with this administration's priorities.
02:19However, if you would like to work together on any aspects of the grant where it is in alignment with the administration's priorities to successfully resolve it for the community,
02:34I'm happy to work with you on that.
02:36Thank you, sir.
02:37And do you believe the EPA or the president can decide not to spend money that Congress has appropriated?
02:43We have an obligation to spend money appropriated by Congress.
02:48We are in the middle of a fiscal year.
02:50We are not required to agree with the administration's priorities of the last presidential administration.
02:57But we will continue to get funding out the door before the end of this fiscal year with those top-line appropriations from Congress.
