In 2024, Springfield became one of many “disadvantaged” cities to receive a Community Change Grant from the EPA to support climate resilience-related projects such as home retrofits, tree planting and green infrastructure projects.

But less than a year later, the funding was frozen and eventually terminated as part of the Trump administration’s downsizing efforts. In response, last June, the city joined a first-of-its-kind class action lawsuit challenging the legality of the clawback.

In our system of checks and balances, it’s Congress — not the president — that holds the “power of the purse.” Moreover, the 1974 Impoundment Control Act requires that if a president wishes to rescind funds lawfully appropriated by Congress, the legislature must approve the request.

On those grounds, the

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