Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) spearheaded a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin demanding the restoration of the Solar for All program.
As Cactus Politics previously covered, Solar for All helps lower-income families and communities install solar panels in their homes or other buildings, but Administrator Zeldin announced in August that the program would be canceled, sparking outrage among Democrats who allege that the money initially allocated to the program cannot be recovered.
"Your agency's decision to terminate Solar for All is not only unlawful—given this funding was congressionally appropriated and fully obligated—but also ill-timed," Sens. Kelly and Gallego argue in their letter.
The lawmakers highlighted that "energy bills are soaring across the country and millions of families are facing higher living costs. Electricity bills are 6.2 percent higher than this time last year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. EPA's reckless decision to terminate Solar for All directly undermines efforts by Congress to reduce energy costs and improve grid resilience." "It jeopardizes economic investments and inflicts severe job losses across the country while undermining the trust and financial certainty that communities, businesses, and local governments have placed in the federal government," they concluded.
The lawmakers "demand the EPA immediately reinstate the Solar for All program, rectify the damage caused by this termination, and ensure grantees can proceed with the swift implementation of residential solar projects to slash utility bills and create many thousands of good jobs. In the meantime, we require a full accounting of how the EPA will rectify the damage caused by this program's disruptive termination."
In March, the Arizona Senators teamed up to demand that the Phoenix Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Office remain open, saying, "The federal government is at serious risk of failing at its most basic obligations, including breaking long-held promises to tribes."
