DOE is under legal fire on two fronts: one from states, the other from environmental groups.
19 states and the District of Columbia sued DOE late last week over its effort to cap grant funding used for “indirect costs” (like buildings, equipment, and personnel) at 10%. They say it 1) guts budgets for clean energy, weatherization, and emergency programs 2) violates federal law and 3) was imposed with zero evidence it would “improve efficiency.”
Two environmental groups (the Environmental Defense Fund and the Union of Concerned Scientists) filed a federal lawsuit alleging DOE secretly assembled climate skeptics who reject the scientific consensus to write a report downplaying global warming, which the EPA then used to justify repealing the 2009 endangerment finding.