Reps. Lee, Deluzio Push Back on Trump Admin’s Termination of Federal Grants & Contracts to Western PA Organizations

IMLS Letter | EPA Letter

WASHINGTON, D.C. – JUNE 11, 2025 — Today, Congresswoman Summer L. Lee (PA-12) and Congressman Chris Deluzio (PA-17) sent letters to the Trump Administration expressing serious concern about illegally-terminated grants and contracts with beloved cultural institutions and local organizations working to clean our air and water. Recently, DOGE has cut Congressionally-authorized funding to the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, and Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens through the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and funding to organizations like New Sun Rising, Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community, 412 Food Rescue, Riverwise, and others through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These illegal funding clawbacks hurt the entire region, prompting Reps. Lee and Deluzio to push back in a unified front against DOGE’s dismantling of key programs in joint letters to the leadership of IMLS and EPA asking that the funds be restored.   

"Over the past few months, DOGE has made illegal, dangerous, and reckless cuts to Congressionally authorized funding and programs in Western Pennsylvania and across the country. These investments aren’t wasteful — they keep our communities healthy, our workforce strong, and our communities vibrant,” said Congresswoman Summer Lee. "I am committed to holding this administration accountable and pushing back against the harm they continue to instill in our neighborhoods. Our people deserve better."

“In Western Pennsylvania, promises mean something. And when the federal government breaks a promise, it hurts all of us,” said Congressman Chris Deluzio. “It’s outrageous that DOGE is plundering our government, illegally ripping away funding that we in Congress authorized to enrich our region’s culture, clean our air and water, strengthen our workforce, and create opportunities for folks to learn about and enjoy the outdoors. When these local organizations came to my office and told us what was happening, we jumped into action. We won’t stop fighting for Western PA.” 

DOGE has made significant cuts to EPA’s Thriving Community Grantmaking Program, which is designed to distribute funding from the Inflation Reduction Act’s Environmental and Climate Justice Program to community-based nonprofits, local governments, institutions of higher education, and Native American organizations working to address environmental issues. Recently, EPA clawed back over $6.4 million from the Green and Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI), a national organization that—based on federal commitments—was making sub-grants to Western Pennsylvania organizations New Sun Rising, Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community, 412 Food Rescue, and Riverwise. Now, their local initiatives are in jeopardy, hurting efforts to improve air and water quality, develop our workforce, and strengthen outdoor educational programming for all Western Pennsylvanians.

Reps. Lee and Deluzio will continue to closely monitor developments and demand that this Administration follow the law and allow Congressionally-authorized funding to flow back to Western Pennsylvania, for the benefit of the entire region. 

A copy of the IMLS letter can be found here, and the EPA letter can be found here.

Congresswoman Summer Lee serves on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on Education and the Workforce. Since taking office in January 2023, she has delivered historic levels of federal investment totaling over $2.4 Billionbrought back to Western PA, including over $580 million for infrastructure, over $110 million for affordable transit, over $500 million to keep clean energy manufacturing at home in Pennsylvania, and over $55 million on clean energy efforts in and around schools to help keep our kids and communities safe. These investments will help improve Western Pennsylvania’s infrastructure and transit, ensure cleaner air and drinking water, lower housing costs, fund research institutions, fuel clean manufacturing, fund STEM innovation and entrepreneurship, boost workforce development, and create thousands of good paying union jobs.  Lee and her team have also delivered casework and constituent services to over 3,000 constituents with issues ranging from helping our seniors and disabled community access Medicare and social security to helping folks secure housing and helping families with immigration support and passports.