Warren, Heinrich, Murray, 34 Senators Demand Trump Administration Restore $8 Billion in Funding for Energy Projects They Illegally Canceled

Warren, Heinrich, Murray, 34 Senators Demand Trump Administration Restore $8 Billion in Funding for Energy Projects They Illegally Canceled

218 out of 223 projects that were terminated are in states with Democratic leadership, while similar projects in "red states" remain.

"These are impacts that will be felt by Americans, regardless of their political views."

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) joined Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and Patty Murray (D-W.A.), Vice Chair of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, and 34 senators in demanding the U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright and U.S. Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought restore the $8 billion in funding for 223 energy projects in Democrat-led states that were unlawfully canceled. The funding for these projects was approved and appropriated by Congress.

"For the 21 states with impacted projects, your cancellations will mean thousands of lost jobs for Americans, many of whom had every reason to rely on the stability of their jobs before these cancellations and all of whom will face uncertain job markets in our increasingly slowing economy," wrote the senators.

These cancellations will mean thousands of lost jobs for Americans, lost educational opportunities for countless students in now-cancelled university-led projects, difficulty obtaining private financing for impacted developers and utilities, and less domestic manufacturing and innovation, all while diminishing America's competitive leadership globally. It will also mean higher energy bills for households and businesses across the country, all of whom are already stretched thin thanks to the affordability crisis instigated by this administration's tariffs and economic policy.

"For the good of our country, the rule of law, and the American people, we demand that you change course and restore the previously awarded funding," the senators concluded.

All Democratic Senators from states with canceled grants and funding signed the letter: U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Tammy Duckworth (D-I.L.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Maria Cantwell (D-W.A.), Richard Blumenthal (D-C.T.), Ron Wyden (D-O.R.), Richard Durbin (D-I.L.), Ruben Gallego (D-A.Z.), Brian Schatz (D- Hawai'i), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Jacky Rosen (D-N.V.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-H.I.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Mark Kelly (A.Z.), Michael Bennett (D-Colo.), Tina Smith (D-M.N.), Amy Klobuchar (D-M.N.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.).

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