TRIANGLE, Virginia, USA. (AP) — President Joe Biden marked Earth Day by announcing $7 billion in federal grants for residential solar projects that will serve more than 900,000 families in low- and middle-income communities.
In addition, he took the opportunity to criticize Republicans who want to undo their policies to address climate change.
“Despite the overwhelming devastation in Republican and Democratic states, there are still those who deny that the climate is in crisis,” said Biden, who is seeking re-election in November.
He particularly attacked supporters of former President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement.
“My MAGA Republican friends don’t seem to think this is a crisis,” Biden said Monday during a visit to Prince William Park in Virginia, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southwest of Washington. “In fact, they want to roll back the Inflation Reduction Act, which provides funding for a vast majority of these projects, and roll back protections for clean air and clean water.”
The president also used the trip to announce that there are nearly two thousand openings available in 36 states as part of his new American Climate Corps green jobs training program, including openings in partnership with the North American Construction Unions.
Biden used executive orders last year to create the America Climate Corps, taking a cue from Roosevelt’s suite of welfare programs known as the “New Deal.”
“They will be paid to combat climate change,” he said on Monday.
Biden made his announcement under the shade of the trees at Prince William Park, which was established in 1936 as a summer camp for disadvantaged youth in the Washington area. Its creation was part of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps program to help create jobs during the Great Depression.
The solar subsidies will be awarded by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, which announced the 60 beneficiaries. The projects are expected to eventually reduce emissions by the equivalent of 30 million tons of carbon dioxide and save the population $350 million a year.
