A group of 18 House Republicans asked House Speaker Mike Johnson to not pursue a wholesale repeal of subsidies contained in President Joe Biden’s signature climate law on Wednesday.
The lawmakers wrote to Johnson to urge him to not repeal energy sector-wide tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), especially those that have already spurred ongoing development across the country. The IRA became law in 2022 without a single Republican vote, and while the lawmakers said they believe the law is “deeply flawed,” they do not want to see the repeal of all tax credits because “we would have spent billions of taxpayer dollars and received next to nothing in return” for that spending.
“Today, many U.S. companies are already using sector-wide energy tax credits – many of which have enjoyed bipartisan support historically – to make major investments in new U.S. energy infrastructure. We hear from industry and our constituents who fear the energy tax regime will once again be turned on its head due to Republican repeal efforts,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter to Johnson. “Prematurely repealing energy tax credits, particularly those which were used to justify investments that already broke ground, would undermine private investments and stop development that is already ongoing.”
18 GOP Reps IRA Letter by Nick Pope on Scribd
“We must reverse the policies which harm American families while protecting and refining those that are making our country more energy independent and Americans more energy secure,” the letter says. “As Republicans, we support an all-of-the-above approach to energy development and tax credits that incentivize domestic production, innovation, and delivery from all sources.”
Republican Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa, Buddy Carter of Georgia and John Curtis of Utah — who is running for the Senate — signed the letter. Other signatories of the letter include Republican Reps. Andrew Garbarino of New York, David Valadao of California, Lori Chavez-DeRemer of Oregon, Marc Molinaro of New York, Young Kim of California, Jen Kiggans of Virginia, Don Bacon of Nebraska and Erin Houchin of Indiana.
“The IRA was a bad bill that needs to be reformed, but let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. The energy tax credits have led to immense investment in American energy production, created good-paying jobs, and spurred innovation,” Garbarino said in a statement shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation. “We need to be engaging in discussions around this and give it due consideration, rather than prematurely jumping to a wholesale repeal.”
All told, Goldman Sachs projects that the true cost of the IRA’s energy subsidies could ultimately reach $1.2 trillion by 2032. IRA subsidies and projects supported by the bill have found their way to GOP districts across the country, posing potential political problems for lawmakers whose districts are the site of development spurred by a bill they initially opposed, according to Bloomberg News.
The offices of Miller-Meeks, Carter, Curtis, Valadao, Chavez-DeRemer, Molinaro, Kim, Kiggans, Bacon and Houchin did not respond immediately to requests for comment. The offices of their fellow signatories Republican Reps. Mike Lawler of New York, Anthony D’Esposito of New York, Nick LaLota of New York, Thomas Kean of New Jersey, David Joyce of Ohio, Juan Ciscomani of Arizona and Mark Amodei of Nevada did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
(Featured image credit: Screen Capture/CSPAN)
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