Dem bill would restore credits, promote affordable energy

A pair of House Democrats released "consumer-focused" energy legislation Wednesday that would restore recently gutted clean energy tax credits, relieve permitting bottlenecks and prevent a president's ability to favor fossil fuels.

The "Cheap Energy Act," from Reps. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) and Mike Levin (D-Calif.), is broader than a transmission-focused permitting bill the pair released last year.

“For too long, United States energy policy has prioritized the wants of energy producers over the needs of American consumers,” Casten said in release about the draft plan. “It’s past time things change."

Levin said language on grid modernization and to reorient electricity markets would "kickstart conversations on how to solve our energy crisis.”

It comes as Democrats are emphasizing affordability when talking about energy and trying to hammer Republicans for the renewable energy cuts included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which the GOP is trying to rebrand as the "Working Families Tax Cut."

Specifically, the Casten-Levin bill would restore the Inflation Reduction Act tax credits that Democrats passed in 2022 and provide energy assistance to millions of households.

Casten and Levin are co-chairs of the Clean Energy Deployment Task Force for the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC), which is made up of energy and environment-minded Democrats.

The transmission language would make it easier to build out and upgrade the grid. It would also avoid forcing people to pay for powering new large energy consumers on the grid, pointing to data centers.

Casten called the legislation "a consumer-focused approach to energy policy that is rooted in American values like choice and competition. It will lower the cost of energy for American consumers by ensuring they have access to cheap, reliable, and efficient energy.”