SEEC Ways and Means Members Blast Republicans’ Sellout of the American Clean Energy Economy

Washington, D.C. – This week, House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC) members on the House Ways and Means Committee, including SEEC Vice Chair Don Beyer (VA) and SEEC Members Reps. Judy Chu (CA), Lloyd Doggett (TX), and Jimmy Panetta (CA), blasted House Republicans’ mega bill that gives trillions in tax cuts to billionaires, while taking a sledgehammer to American clean energy production and manufacturing. The bill effectively fully repeals the whole spectrum of clean energy tax credits, under the guise of simply phasing them out. This amounts to selling out the American people to our foreign competitors, who are watching eagerly for America’s clean economy boom to fizzle out.

"The energy provisions of this bill are catastrophic. Everyone understands that this is selling out our future generation's livelihood to support tax cuts for the wealthy," said Congressman Beyer. "When Gen Z, or Gen Alpha asks why Congress didn't do something to stop a planet on fire, we can just point to this bill. Despite everything they've said about supporting energy 'across the board,' Republicans are taking a wrecking ball to American energy jobs and manufacturing, many of them in Republican districts, and raising folks’ utility bills at a time when Americans are struggling with high prices."

“My district is still reeling from the devastation of the Eaton Fire, which killed 18 people, burned more than 14,000 acres, destroyed over 9,500 structures, and displaced 20,000 residents. My constituents know all too well that climate-fueled wildfires are becoming deadlier, costlier, and more extreme,” said Congresswoman Chu. “Yet, Republicans are gutting clean energy investments and boosting fossil fuel subsidies just to appease their billionaire donors. It’s reckless and dangerous. Climate disasters don’t care about party lines, and these proposed cuts will only make things worse for communities across the country.”

"With this bill, Trump's billionaire donors win, and our health and our planet lose,” said Congressman Doggett. “This bill is a propaganda-driven hatchet job designed to undermine most every constructive action we have taken to advance clean energy. American families will bear the costs with their health, higher utility bills, and steadily more dangerous natural disasters. Together we must do everything possible to stop approval.”

"The Majority's reconciliation bill would gut federal energy tax credits that already are lowering costs for families, creating good-paying jobs, and cutting our carbon output across our country,” said Congressman Panetta. “As a member of the Ways and Means Committee, I was proud to help pass the largest investment in clean energy in history to ensure that the U.S. leads the world in the fight against climate change. We can't afford to go backward on this progress when so much is at stake when it comes to our economic future, environmental health, and global leadership."

Background

House Republicans are killing the American clean energy economy by eliminating our clean energy tax credits, gutting job-creating opportunities for American manufacturing, and clawing back critical cost savings for American families. Here’s what the bill does:   

• Phases out clean energy production and investment tax credits and places onerous restrictions that will jeopardize the 400,000 new jobs and $44 billion in announced clean energy investments.
• Eliminates clean vehicle tax credits, which will increase costs for consumers and sacrifice the American auto sector’s ability to compete with the exploding Chinese auto sector.
• Creates unworkable “foreign entity of concern” restrictions that will freeze investment in clean manufacturing and related supply chains due to compliance uncertainty.
• Retroactively changes the rules for when projects can access credits so it is no longer based on when they begin construction, which will make projects suddenly ineligible for a credit they were banking on due to circumstances outside of their control such as permitting or supply chain disruptions.
• Ends long-standing home energy efficiency tax credits, actively taking money away from American households who want to conserve energy and reduce costs.
• Ends transferability for the clean energy tax credits as of 2027, which will block access to cheaper financing options, thereby limiting the amount of clean energy that will get deployed across the country.