Page 1 GAO-25-107516 Justice40
In 2021, Executive Order (EO) 14008 directed federal agencies to take action to
address the disproportionately high and adverse human health, environmental,
climate-related, and other cumulative impacts on “disadvantaged communities.”
Specifically, the executive order established the goal that 40 percent of the
overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to such communities. Benefits
could include, for example, improved health, lower home energy costs, or
restored wetlands. The executive order referred to this all-of-government effort as
the Justice40 Initiative. The initiative did not itself create programs or appropriate
or allocate funding. In January 2025, EO 14008 was revoked, thereby terminating
the Justice40 Initiative.
By November 2023, 19 agencies had identified 518 programs—referred to by the
implementation guidance as “covered programs”—that made covered
investments such as grants or loans to Tribes, states, individuals, organizations,
and other entities. According to the Executive Office of the President’s 2024
Environmental Justice Scorecard, Congress appropriated approximately $613
billion total for the programs for fiscal years 2022 through 2027, including
supplemental appropriations such as those made by the Inflation Reduction Act
of 2022 (IRA).
The IRA included a provision for us to support oversight of the distribution and
use of funds appropriated under the IRA and whether the economic, social, and
environmental impacts of those funds are equitable. We were also asked, prior to
the initiative’s termination, to review implementation of the Justice40 Initiative.
This report provides information on the actions that three of the agencies with the
most covered programs had taken, as of December 2024, to implement the
initiative and related efforts, such as data collection and stakeholder
engagement, as well as steps they took to assess those actions. The three
agencies we examined are the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the
Department of the Interior, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This
report also provides information on how the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) used the three agencies’ data on Justice40 implementation as of
December 2024.
• As of December 2024, EPA, Interior, and USDA had taken similar actions to
implement the Justice40 Initiative. These actions included integrating related
goals and strategies into agency plans, taking steps to address barriers
underserved communities face in accessing federal programs, issuing
internal guidance, and making program modifications. The agencies had also
taken initial steps to assess the results of their actions, such as by making
plans to collect and assess relevant data.
• The overall results of agency actions taken prior to the initiative’s termination
in January 2025 are unknown. By December 2024, EPA, Interior, USDA, and
U.S. Government Accountability Office
Environmental Justice: Agency Actions to
Implement Past Justice40 Initiative
-25-107516
Report to Congressional Addressees
