Press Release - They've Seen the Light! Some House Republicans Now Wants to SAVE(!) the President's Climate Law

When President Biden thinks about climate change, he thinks about jobs. Some House Republicans are starting to realize he's been right all along.

Nearly two years after every Republican voted against President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act – the largest and most ambitious investment in climate and clean energy in world history – some House Republicans are suddenly realizing that Americans love strong climate investments, and that their repeated attempts to repeal and undermine the law are not so popular.

A new E&E article today reports that some House Republicans "are telling their leadership not to gut the clean energy tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act … the latest example of a growing rift within the Republican Party." The report comes as the Biden-Harris Administration announces ahead of the IRA's two-year anniversary that more than 3.4 million American families benefitted from $8.4 billion in tax credits to lower the costs of clean energy and energy efficiency upgrades to their homes during 2023 – significantly outpacing expectations and reflecting the widespread popularity of clean energy tax incentives. Since President Biden signed the IRA into the law, more than 313,000 clean energy jobs have been created.

Read more below:

E&E News: Some House Republicans warn against climate law repeal
Emma Dumain, August 7, 2024

Eighteen House Republicans are telling their leadership not to gut the clean energy tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act if the GOP wins a governing majority in Washington next year.

Their new letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), shared first with POLITICO's E&E News, is the latest example of a growing rift within the Republican Party. On one side are lawmakers who want a wholesale repeal of the climate and social spending law. On the other are those whose districts are seeing the tangible benefits of that law in the form of clean energy manufacturing investments.

It's a split the party could have to contend with if former President Donald Trump, who has pledged to unravel the Inflation Reduction Act, returns to the White House and Republicans control both chambers of Congress.

"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," the House Republicans warn Johnson. "A full repeal would create a worst-case scenario where we would have spent billions of taxpayer dollars and received next to nothing in return."

Their letter also comes just as members of Congress have returned home to their states and districts for an extended August recess — and to campaign for reelection.

"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," the letter reads. "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 letter was spearheaded by Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), the co-chair of the bipartisan House Climate Solutions Caucus. He has been vocal about his support for many of the energy tax credits contained in the Inflation Reduction Act, which passed the Senate two years ago Wednesday in the Democratic-controlled Congress.