Environmental groups face US Republican Congress probe

Republicans in Congress announced on September 4 that they were investigating nonprofit environmental groups over litigation against policies they describe as pro-growth.

The House Committee on Natural Resources, chaired by Representative Bruce Westerman of Arkansas, sent letters to 19 organizations, including the Center for Biological Diversity, Earthjustice and the Natural Resources Defense Council. The letters demanded written answers and in-person testimony about the groups' business practices.

The committee said it was concerned by what it called “radical lawfare campaigns” and accused the groups of using “misleading and emotive messaging” to build litigation operations funded by taxpayer dollars through attorney fee reimbursement provisions.

Environmental groups have frequently sued President Donald Trump's administration over policies criticized by conservationists, including moves related to greenhouse gas findings, protected public lands and endangered species protections. Under various statutes, their legal teams can be paid from government funds when they win in court.

Brett Hartl, government affairs director for the Center for Biological Diversity, said nonprofit lawyers are paid with government money only “when the court finds that an agency has broken the law that Congress itself has passed.”

Hartl said the document request was “vague, broad and confusing” and characterized the demand for in-person interviews as punitive and harassing. He said the group was “not intimidated.”

The source item cited recent nonprofit wins against the administration, including a June appeals court ruling that the Environmental Protection Agency must uphold strengthened air pollution standards for fine particulate matter, or soot.