Politics have no place in community investing
May 14, 2025
Earlier this week, two U.S. House committees took aim at cutting government spending on healthcare, childcare, education, housing, research, clean energy, and food banks to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy. If passed, the proposed cuts would leave 8.6 million more Americans uninsured, increase household energy costs by $32 billion over the next decade.
The impact of these drastic budget cuts mirrors the Trump administration’s own approach and extends far beyond firing civil servants and closing lesser-known government agencies to every corner of the country, from Arkansas to Alaska and everywhere in between.
Climate United received $7 billion award last year under EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to invest in energy and economic development projects across the country – a program that the proposed House budget would cut completely. Our funds were fully deposited in our bank account last year, and we got to work investing in communities...until those funds were unlawfully frozen in February.
From solar farms in rural communities in Arkansas to energy efficiency retrofits for affordable housing in Oregon to electric heavy-duty trucks for small fleet operators at ports across the country, our transformative investments are intended to ensure every American benefits from lower energy costs, good-paying jobs, and cleaner air and water.
These aren’t red or blue investments; they’re investments in projects that serve Americans no matter their race, religion or political affiliation. At a time when so many working families are struggling to make ends meet, and energy prices are skyrocketing, it should be a no-brainer to push forward these critical investments.
Even though our organization – a coalition of non-profit lenders with over 120 years of combined community and infrastructure lending experience at scale – is not political, recent public attacks against the program make it seem that way.
The idea of leveraging public dollars alongside private capital to build needed infrastructure, lower costs, create jobs, and support community resilience is a bi-partisan one. As recently as 2011, federal lawmakers of both parties were working together on bi-partisan Green Bank legislation; there are a dozen Green Banks in states with Republican governors, and hundreds of community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and credit unions with deep experience and bi-partisan support hungry to deploy money-saving clean energy projects.
Politics have no place in community investment. Lending institutions like ours by design aren’t political – they exist to drive capital to people and places that need it most. These investments in critical energy, housing and transportation infrastructure bring communities together for the common good, leveraging private markets to get the most bang for the buck.
A recent study by Energy Innovation estimated that the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund would create up to 41,000 new construction and manufacturing jobs annually, save consumers $52 billion on energy bills over the next 20 years, and generate $65.5 billion in U.S. public and private investment across red and blue states.
Politicized attacks on the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and awardees like Climate United don't just impact us. They are also leaving Americans across the country in the lurch: a Tribal community in Oklahoma that wants to power its community center with solar; a working family in upstate New York trying to cut its monthly energy bill; fishermen in Alaska struggling to make their boats and buildings more efficient; and a small fleet operator looking to cut down on maintenance costs by purchasing electric trucks.
Americans deserve better than to be collateral damage in a political score-settling fight unfolding in courtrooms and TV studios halfway across the country. They deserve what Congress promised: $20B in investments that will save hard-working Americans money, cut pollution, create jobs, and boost American manufacturing.
Before our accounts were unlawfully frozen, Climate United had already committed over $300 million in loans for projects across the country, from solar energy serving rural schools and communities in Arkansas to affordable housing in Oregon to low-cost electric trucks at ports across the country. These projects are estimated to mobilize over $1.2 billion in private capital, create over 3,600 jobs, and generate over $1.5 billion in cost savings. And we were only just getting started.
Investing in making Americans’ lives better shouldn’t be political – and it doesn’t have to be. We can all do better when instead of tearing things down, we work together to build things up.
