Letters

One of my favorite things to read in these pages is the coverage given to recipients of affordable housing, sometimes in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity. Imagine my surprise when I read in The New Republic that “The FBI is moving to criminalize groups like Habitat for Humanity for receiving grants from the Environmental Protection Agency under the Biden administration.”

Under the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, grants were made available to groups like Habitat for Humanity to incorporate energy-saving ideas in their housing programs. In retaliation, Donald Trump’s FBI directed the financial intermediary, Citibank, to freeze bank accounts for Habitat for Humanity (and other nonprofit groups) for “possible criminal violations, including conspiracy to defraud the United States.”

So, how did that go in court? A federal judge “lambasted” EPA’s cancellation of $20 billion in climate grants after the Trump administration was unable to offer any evidence of wrongdoing. Of course there was no evidence of wrongdoing — acolytes like EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin operate under the erratic whims of Donald Trump, the undemocratic formulations of Project 2025, and Elon Musk’s libertarian ideology. That is how they operate.

Speaking of Lee Zeldin, Inside Climate News reports that Mr. Zeldin announced 31 separate actions to roll back restrictions on air and water pollution, hand over more authority to states, and relinquish EPA’s mandate to act on climate change under the Clean Air Act. Lee Zeldin is acting more like an oil lobbyist than an EPA administrator.

After Lee Zeldin was approved by the U.S. Senate to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, released a statement, which included these hopeful words: “We are counting on Administrator Zeldin to remember his roots and past votes and to continue to fight climate change and stand strong against efforts to weaken protections for the air we breathe, the water we drink and our family’s health.”

I wasn’t nearly as hopeful as Ms. Esposito; it didn’t take long for Lee Zeldin’s true colors to emerge.

(Note well: Southampton Town is a leader in supporting energy savings and green homes. You can read about it here: https://www.southamptontownny.gov/212/Municipal-Works---Energy-Sustainability.)

Mike Anthony

Westhampton

Anthony is a former chair of the Southampton Democratic Committee — Ed.