Between fiscal year 2019 and fiscal year 2024, federal agencies like the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service paid an estimated $24.8 million in Equal Access to Justice Act awards, with roughly 76% of that going to environmental nonprofits instead of forest management or energy development projects. Likewise, Endangered Species Act fee-shifting payments totaled more than $20.2 million over the last 5 years.
Speaker
Speaker A
Timestamp
5:496:40
Community
Alaska News
Captured at
May 20, 2026

From the transcript

Make no mistake about it, the evidence of radical environmentalism's abuse of taxpayers' dollars is startling. Some litigation-focused preservationist nonprofit groups claim to provide free legal services, yet more than 40% of their annual funding derives from from legal representation and advice. In other words, half their budgets are paid for by taxpayer-funded settlements and attorney fees awards. Between fiscal year 2019 and fiscal year 2024, federal agencies like the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service paid an estimated $24.8 million in Equal Access to Justice Act awards, with roughly 76% of that going to environmental nonprofits instead of forest management or energy development projects. Likewise, Endangered Species Act fee-shifting payments totaled more than $20.2 million over the last 5 years.

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House Republicans examine $24.8M in federal attorney fees to environmental groups

A House subcommittee heard testimony Wednesday on how environmental nonprofits receive millions in taxpayer-funded legal fee awards, with some groups deriving 40% of their funding from litigation settlements.

Walter AlaskaNewsby Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago4 min readAI
Washington, District of Columbia
Cover image for article: House Republicans examine $24.8M in federal attorney fees to environmental groups