Support among House Republicans increases for maintaining clean energy tax incentives
This week, lawmakers are anticipated to begin the challenging process of identifying which credits may be eliminated to finance the GOP's budget bill.
TroibNews 
An increasing number of House Republicans are calling on their party to maintain the clean energy tax credits included in Democrats’ climate legislation, warning they may oppose the party's budget bill if these incentives are removed.
In a letter shared exclusively with PMG, 21 House Republicans — representing districts that have attracted billions in new investments due to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) — emphasized the importance of clean energy development in achieving the goal of making the U.S. “energy dominant,” as stated by President Donald Trump. They expressed intentions to resist efforts to dismantle the law to fund a small portion of the GOP's extensive tax-cut plan.
“We have 20-plus members saying, ‘Don’t just think you can repeal these things and have our support,’” said Rep. Andrew Garbarino, the letter's organizer.
The rising resistance to cutting the IRA’s substantial tax credits and incentives, which have predominantly benefited GOP-held districts, adds complexity to the House Republicans' plans to reduce federal spending without impacting Medicaid as they aim to balance the tax cuts in their budget proposal.
“We need the projects that are currently under development to be brought online so we can continue the President’s ‘America First’ agenda,” Garbarino noted. He previously collaborated with 17 other Republicans in a letter last fall urging leadership to protect these credits. “These [credits] are helping the president accomplish what he said he wanted to do in his campaign, and that was to make America an energy dominant country.”
So far, Republicans have not specified the extent to which they will defend these credits, even as Trump aims to dismantle former President Joe Biden’s climate agenda, drawing concern from some members about potential cuts to Medicaid.
Details on which credits may face elimination could become clearer this week as House Republicans begin outlining their budget bill intended for the reconciliation process. This procedure allows them to bypass the Senate filibuster and send the bill to Trump with only GOP votes.
As PMG previously reported, Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee, responsible for overseeing the credits, are set to meet behind closed doors this week to draft legislation.
Garbarino, co-chair of the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus, stated that he and his Republican colleagues are releasing their letter to Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith prior to those meetings to help shape the discussions.
In their new letter, which is strategically addressed to appeal to Trump, the representatives caution that repealing specific tax credits “would increase utility bills the very next day.” They argue that these incentives are crucial for boosting manufacturing and energy production needed to meet the rising demand from planned artificial intelligence data centers.
They pointed out that “many credits were enacted over the course of a ten-year period, which allowed energy developers to plan with these tax incentives in mind.”
Consequently, even if Republicans do not pursue a full repeal and instead consider phasing out or restricting the credits to reduce costs, the lawmakers warn of potential repercussions for electricity consumers.
“Full repeal right now of energy tax credits would be a disaster for what companies have paid for, for what we’ve already invested in with taxpayer dollars,” Garbarino stated, adding that he has had several discussions with Smith. “Even starting to phase them out would end up making a project moot.”
The increasing support among House lawmakers for these incentives exceeds the Republicans’ slim majority in the chamber, although not all signatories of the letter back the same credits within the IRA.
Other Republicans have shown support for specific incentives. However, they might face pressure not only from their GOP colleagues but also from Trump, who has promised to eliminate the Inflation Reduction Act while disparaging it as a “green new scam.”
GOP leaders aim to finish the reconciliation bill by Memorial Day, despite the Senate and House yet to align on the budget resolutions necessary to kickstart the process.
The House budget resolution requires committees to identify significant cuts, potentially intensifying pressure on Republicans to target green subsidies, particularly amid dissent regarding Medicaid cuts. The debate is anticipated to extend for months, with the Senate not expected to address the House resolution until later this month at the earliest.
Rep. Juan Ciscomani, who signed the letter and has an electric vehicle manufacturing facility in his district, discussed the credits with Speaker Mike Johnson before the House tentatively approved its budget framework last month. Ciscomani is among those raising alarms about proposed Medicaid and food assistance limitations.
It's “very early in the process,” Ciscomani remarked, though he is confident that as more legislative text emerges, additional members will advocate for clean energy credits.
“It doesn’t just end with that letter [last year], obviously, and one of the reasons is that there are more people that after that letter came [to us] interested that share our position,” he added.
Rep. Jen Kiggans, who represents a district benefiting from funding for offshore wind projects, emphasized the significance of this funding for enhancing energy security.
“America cannot afford to turn a blind eye to how existing clean energy tax credits are actively helping our Armed Forces, small businesses, and everyday families,” she asserted. “I am proud to stand with my colleagues to advocate for an all-of-the-above approach that protects these critical tax credits and spurs innovation.”
Along with the 14 members from last year’s letter who are still in the House, Reps. John James, Dan Newhouse, Vince Fong, Gabe Evans, Jeff Hurd, Ryan Mackenzie, and Rob Bresnahan signed the new letter. The latter four are first-year members from competitive districts that have benefited from the credits.
“Common sense tax credits that preserve all-of-the-above options for safe, reliable, and affordable energy are essential to American energy dominance,” Evans stated.
So far, the IRA credits drawing the most support from Republicans include those for biofuels — which House Republicans successfully defended in 2023 — and the carbon capture subsidy, backed by the fossil fuel industry.
Last week, a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Ways and Means member Carol Miller, introduced a bill to broaden that credit, known as 45Q, to incorporate methane captured from mines.
Republicans have also expressed support for the advanced manufacturing credit as well as tech-neutral credits for electricity generation and investment established by the IRA, which encompass a range of energy sources from wind and solar to nuclear and geothermal energy, and biofuels.
“Tax incentives like the tech-neutral clean energy credits under 45Y, 45E, and the 45Q carbon sequestration credit and the 45X advanced manufacturing credit aim to strengthen manufacturing capability and reduce the engineering, procurement and construction risk that have plagued major energy projects,” noted Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, chair of the Conservative Climate Caucus and a letter signatory, during a hearing last week.
The Edison Electric Institute, representing investor-owned utilities, brought 40 companies to Congress last week to argue that altering existing tax policy would jeopardize “energy security and the billions of dollars in current investments flowing to communities and electricity customers,” according to a spokesperson. Meanwhile, the nonprofit group Ceres brought 80 companies to the Hill for over 100 meetings last week in support of the credits.
Zach Friedman, senior director of federal policy at Ceres, mentioned that Republicans showed “a lot of receptivity” to the companies' arguments during those meetings.
“We’re cautiously optimistic that a lot of these will stay in place,” Friedman remarked.
However, Republican leaders have indicated they are proceeding with plans to assess cuts to the IRA.
“Everything [in the IRA] is on the table in the sense that we’re looking at it, nothing has been decided,” Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo said briefly.
Johnson also suggested late last month that he may exceed his earlier intention to take a “scalpel” approach to the IRA.
"It's gonna be somewhere between a scalpel and a sledgehammer," the speaker told reporters at that time. “We’ll have to see.”
Kelsey Tamborrino contributed to this report.
Mark B Thomas for TROIB News
In a letter shared exclusively with PMG, 21 House Republicans — representing districts that have attracted billions in new investments due to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) — emphasized the importance of clean energy development in achieving the goal of making the U.S. “energy dominant,” as stated by President Donald Trump. They expressed intentions to resist efforts to dismantle the law to fund a small portion of the GOP's extensive tax-cut plan.
“We have 20-plus members saying, ‘Don’t just think you can repeal these things and have our support,’” said Rep. Andrew Garbarino, the letter's organizer.
The rising resistance to cutting the IRA’s substantial tax credits and incentives, which have predominantly benefited GOP-held districts, adds complexity to the House Republicans' plans to reduce federal spending without impacting Medicaid as they aim to balance the tax cuts in their budget proposal.
“We need the projects that are currently under development to be brought online so we can continue the President’s ‘America First’ agenda,” Garbarino noted. He previously collaborated with 17 other Republicans in a letter last fall urging leadership to protect these credits. “These [credits] are helping the president accomplish what he said he wanted to do in his campaign, and that was to make America an energy dominant country.”
So far, Republicans have not specified the extent to which they will defend these credits, even as Trump aims to dismantle former President Joe Biden’s climate agenda, drawing concern from some members about potential cuts to Medicaid.
Details on which credits may face elimination could become clearer this week as House Republicans begin outlining their budget bill intended for the reconciliation process. This procedure allows them to bypass the Senate filibuster and send the bill to Trump with only GOP votes.
As PMG previously reported, Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee, responsible for overseeing the credits, are set to meet behind closed doors this week to draft legislation.
Garbarino, co-chair of the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus, stated that he and his Republican colleagues are releasing their letter to Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith prior to those meetings to help shape the discussions.
In their new letter, which is strategically addressed to appeal to Trump, the representatives caution that repealing specific tax credits “would increase utility bills the very next day.” They argue that these incentives are crucial for boosting manufacturing and energy production needed to meet the rising demand from planned artificial intelligence data centers.
They pointed out that “many credits were enacted over the course of a ten-year period, which allowed energy developers to plan with these tax incentives in mind.”
Consequently, even if Republicans do not pursue a full repeal and instead consider phasing out or restricting the credits to reduce costs, the lawmakers warn of potential repercussions for electricity consumers.
“Full repeal right now of energy tax credits would be a disaster for what companies have paid for, for what we’ve already invested in with taxpayer dollars,” Garbarino stated, adding that he has had several discussions with Smith. “Even starting to phase them out would end up making a project moot.”
The increasing support among House lawmakers for these incentives exceeds the Republicans’ slim majority in the chamber, although not all signatories of the letter back the same credits within the IRA.
Other Republicans have shown support for specific incentives. However, they might face pressure not only from their GOP colleagues but also from Trump, who has promised to eliminate the Inflation Reduction Act while disparaging it as a “green new scam.”
GOP leaders aim to finish the reconciliation bill by Memorial Day, despite the Senate and House yet to align on the budget resolutions necessary to kickstart the process.
The House budget resolution requires committees to identify significant cuts, potentially intensifying pressure on Republicans to target green subsidies, particularly amid dissent regarding Medicaid cuts. The debate is anticipated to extend for months, with the Senate not expected to address the House resolution until later this month at the earliest.
Rep. Juan Ciscomani, who signed the letter and has an electric vehicle manufacturing facility in his district, discussed the credits with Speaker Mike Johnson before the House tentatively approved its budget framework last month. Ciscomani is among those raising alarms about proposed Medicaid and food assistance limitations.
It's “very early in the process,” Ciscomani remarked, though he is confident that as more legislative text emerges, additional members will advocate for clean energy credits.
“It doesn’t just end with that letter [last year], obviously, and one of the reasons is that there are more people that after that letter came [to us] interested that share our position,” he added.
Rep. Jen Kiggans, who represents a district benefiting from funding for offshore wind projects, emphasized the significance of this funding for enhancing energy security.
“America cannot afford to turn a blind eye to how existing clean energy tax credits are actively helping our Armed Forces, small businesses, and everyday families,” she asserted. “I am proud to stand with my colleagues to advocate for an all-of-the-above approach that protects these critical tax credits and spurs innovation.”
Along with the 14 members from last year’s letter who are still in the House, Reps. John James, Dan Newhouse, Vince Fong, Gabe Evans, Jeff Hurd, Ryan Mackenzie, and Rob Bresnahan signed the new letter. The latter four are first-year members from competitive districts that have benefited from the credits.
“Common sense tax credits that preserve all-of-the-above options for safe, reliable, and affordable energy are essential to American energy dominance,” Evans stated.
So far, the IRA credits drawing the most support from Republicans include those for biofuels — which House Republicans successfully defended in 2023 — and the carbon capture subsidy, backed by the fossil fuel industry.
Last week, a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Ways and Means member Carol Miller, introduced a bill to broaden that credit, known as 45Q, to incorporate methane captured from mines.
Republicans have also expressed support for the advanced manufacturing credit as well as tech-neutral credits for electricity generation and investment established by the IRA, which encompass a range of energy sources from wind and solar to nuclear and geothermal energy, and biofuels.
“Tax incentives like the tech-neutral clean energy credits under 45Y, 45E, and the 45Q carbon sequestration credit and the 45X advanced manufacturing credit aim to strengthen manufacturing capability and reduce the engineering, procurement and construction risk that have plagued major energy projects,” noted Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, chair of the Conservative Climate Caucus and a letter signatory, during a hearing last week.
The Edison Electric Institute, representing investor-owned utilities, brought 40 companies to Congress last week to argue that altering existing tax policy would jeopardize “energy security and the billions of dollars in current investments flowing to communities and electricity customers,” according to a spokesperson. Meanwhile, the nonprofit group Ceres brought 80 companies to the Hill for over 100 meetings last week in support of the credits.
Zach Friedman, senior director of federal policy at Ceres, mentioned that Republicans showed “a lot of receptivity” to the companies' arguments during those meetings.
“We’re cautiously optimistic that a lot of these will stay in place,” Friedman remarked.
However, Republican leaders have indicated they are proceeding with plans to assess cuts to the IRA.
“Everything [in the IRA] is on the table in the sense that we’re looking at it, nothing has been decided,” Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo said briefly.
Johnson also suggested late last month that he may exceed his earlier intention to take a “scalpel” approach to the IRA.
"It's gonna be somewhere between a scalpel and a sledgehammer," the speaker told reporters at that time. “We’ll have to see.”
Kelsey Tamborrino contributed to this report.
Mark B Thomas for TROIB News
