Amid the Trump administration's push to undo clean energy policies, a group of conservatives is working to preserve Inflation Reduction Act incentives and investments.
Twenty-one House Republicans sent a letter March 9 to Jason Smith, chair of the Ways and Means Committee, as Reuters reported. Andrew Garbarino of New York is leading the drive to protect private interests in each of the representatives' districts.
The effort seems to be picking up steam, too. Last year, Garbarino and 17 other Republicans sent a similar letter to Speaker Mike Johnson.
"Around 85% of private-sector investments in clean energy and manufacturing projects incentivized by the IRA have gone to Republican Congressional districts," per Reuters.
Enacted in 2022, the tax credits "have helped spur a boom in manufacturing investment in the United States," The New York Times noted, with the country's clean energy industry picking up $315 billion in investments in 2024.
The group is asking for IRA tax incentives to be protected in a budget reconciliation bill to keep consumers from paying higher prices and businesses from having spent billions of dollars for nothing. President Donald Trump has said he wants to dismantle the IRA.
"Both our constituencies and the energy industry alike remain concerned about disruptive changes to our nation's energy tax structure," the letter stated. "Many credits were enacted over the course of a 10-year period, which allowed energy developers to plan with these tax incentives in mind."
The Times detailed a lobbying blitz by conservative environmentalists and renewable energy industry advocates to get Republicans to fight for the incentives. Even Occidental Petroleum supports the credits.
The movement is keying on a so-called "all-of-the-above energy approach" to avoid clashing with the administration's "energy dominance" platform, which is based on dirty energy sources.
"Republicans are not talking about climate or emissions in a significant way," Heather Reams of conservative environmental group Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions told the Times. "We're talking about energy dominance. We're talking about reliability, affordability, domestically produced energy and not enriching China or hostile nations."
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Definitely 💯 But there is skepticism about the coalition's willingness to follow through. If the bill does not include protections for clean energy incentives but comes down to a vote, will the representatives make a stand?
"Let's not just say we're going to repeal it because it was the IRA," Garbarino told the Times. "That's stupid."
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