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Homeowners in Alabama and Georgia who were counting on federal money to repair aging homes and lower crushing utility bills are now scrambling after the Trump administration canceled a major EPA grant program it labeled part of a “radical” DEI agenda.
According to a Bloomberg report, residents in former textile mill communities around Valley and Lanett, Alabama, had been approved for home energy upgrades through the Biden-era Community Change Grants program (1). The initiative would have helped fund repairs like sealing drafty windows and doors, as well as installing solar and battery backup systems to lower monthly utility costs.
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For retirees like Gretchen Holloway, whose utility bills reportedly climbed as high as $900 a month, the program represented a rare chance to make her deteriorating home livable again.
However, the EPA terminated this program after the Trump administration moved to eliminate grants tied to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and environmental justice programs. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the agency canceled more than 400 grants (2), totaling roughly $1.7 billion, as part of a broader rollback effort.
The cuts come as utility costs continue climbing nationwide. In fact, Bloomberg reports that analysts expect average summer cooling bills to rise another 8.5% this year. Meanwhile, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said utilities disconnected residential power or gas service more than 13 million times (3) due to nonpayment in 2024. The South was identified as one of the hardest-hit regions.
DOGE’s AI-driven DEI cuts facing growing scrutiny
The grant cancellations have become part of a larger controversy surrounding the Trump administration’s former Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, the federal cost-cutting initiative that was run by Elon Musk.
Court filings and depositions released this year showed DOGE staffers used ChatGPT (4) to help identify grants they believed were related to DEI initiatives. In one case involving National Endowment for the Humanities grants, staffers reportedly prompted ChatGPT to determine whether certain projects “relate at all to DEI.”
The process drew widespread criticism after depositions revealed some DOGE officials struggled to define DEI when questioned under oath. A federal judge later ruled the grant cuts unconstitutional (5), finding that DOGE’s methods violated First and Fifth Amendment protections and amounted to unlawful viewpoint discrimination.
The administration has defended the cuts as necessary spending reductions, but critics argue many of the eliminated programs were less about politics and more about practical infrastructure improvements in low-income communities.
DEI generally refers to policies or programs intended to improve access and opportunities for historically marginalized groups of people. Environmental justice programs, specifically, often focus on communities disproportionately affected by pollution, poor housing conditions or climate risks.
In April, Reuters reported that experts warned that ending those grants would disproportionately affect Black and Hispanic communities (6) that are already facing higher pollution exposure and energy burdens.
What affected homeowners may still be able to do
For families who lost access to these federal repair programs, options are limited but not nonexistent.
Some homeowners may still qualify for assistance through the federal Weatherization Assistance Program (7), which helps low-income households improve energy efficiency and lower utility bills. State utility assistance programs and nonprofit repair groups may also offer grants or emergency help for heating and cooling costs.
Residents can also search for assistance through the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (8). Legal challenges (9) to several EPA grant cancellations are also ongoing. Some courts have already ordered certain grants to be reinstated while lawsuits continue to move through the system.
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Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
Bloomberg (1); Reuters (2), (6); U.S. Energy Information Administration (3); The Washington Post (4), (5); U.S. Department of Energy (7); Administration for Children and Families (8); Earthjustice (9)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
