Biden to Spend $1 Billion in Taxpayer Funds to Advance ‘Equitable Access to Trees’
Collin Anderson, Washington Free Beacon, April 13, 2023
The Biden administration is spending up to $1 billion in taxpayer funds to promote “equitable access to trees,” an effort it says will “advance environmental justice” and fight climate change.
President Joe Biden’s Agriculture Department on Wednesday announced the funding, which it called a “historic investment in our nation’s urban tree canopy.” The money is available to universities, nonprofits, and states working to “increase tree cover in urban spaces and boost equitable access to nature” and “advance environmental justice by mitigating the impact of climate change on communities who lack tree cover.” California, for example, is set to receive $43 million, the program’s largest allocation.
{snip}
Biden’s Agriculture Department says its equitable tree access investments “go beyond planting trees in tree wells” and will “support lasting community relationships and engagements that strengthen communities.” The spending is part of the administration’s Justice40 Initiative, which calls for “40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution.”
The department’s Wednesday announcement includes supportive quotes from New Jersey Democratic senator Cory Booker {snip}
“This historic investment will help us tackle the most pernicious effects of climate change, move us closer to remedying environmental justice in our communities, and pay dividends for generations to come,” Booker said.
