House Republicans target clean energy tax credits and pollution rules in
budget proposal
[May 13, 2025]
By ALEXA ST. JOHN and MATTHEW DALY
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans are calling for billions of dollars
in funding cuts for Biden-era climate and environmental programs,
including clean energy tax credits, as lawmakers seek to reverse what
one GOP leader called “the most reckless parts of the engorged climate
spending" approved under former President Joe Biden.
Environmental groups warned the proposals would pave the way for more
oil and gas industry activity on public lands and increase
planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.
The House committees on Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means are set
to discuss the plans Tuesday as part of the so-called budget
reconciliation process. Several moves are aimed at clawing back billions
in spending authorized by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, a Democratic
measure intended to slow climate change and boost clean energy such as
wind and solar power.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has set a Memorial Day deadline to pass
President Donald Trump’s big bill of tax breaks and spending cuts, and
the GOP has scheduled round-the-clock hearings this week on various
sections of the bill before they are stitched together in what will
become a massive package.
Republican Rep. Brett Guthrie of Kentucky, chairman of the House Energy
and Commerce panel, said his committee’s bill, unveiled Sunday, would
return $6.5 billion in unspent funds intended for climate programs
included in the 2022 law. In an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, he
said the plan “ends spending on Green New Deal-style waste" and claws
back money "headed for green boondoggles'' such as grants for
environmental and climate justice.
“The legislation would reverse the most reckless parts of the engorged
climate spending in the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act,” Guthrie
wrote.
The cuts to climate programs are part of a larger $880 billion in
savings by 2034 proposed in the draft legislation that also covers
communication and health-related policy, largely targeting Medicaid.
The cuts fit with Trump’s 2026 budget proposal, which looks to slash
federal spending through a sweeping reorganization of federal agencies
as well as steep cuts to disease research and, especially, clean energy
and policies intended to address climate change. Congress ultimately
decides the spending and tax plans.
In Trump’s first few months back in the White House, the administration
has broadly gone after environmental and climate initiatives, many of
which were put into place under the Biden administration, pledging to
dismantle what Trump calls the Democrats’ “green new scam.”
Groups decry the proposals
The GOP proposal “guts investments that are cutting energy costs" for
families, “powering a domestic manufacturing boom and delivering
essential health care to the communities that need it most,'' said Lena
Moffitt, executive director of the environmental group Evergreen Action.
The Republican move to loosen pollution standards “would mean more smog
in our streets,” while cuts to environmental justice block grants “would
force low-income communities to pay more for dirtier energy," she added.
“Republicans are sacrificing clean energy on the altar of Big Oil to
bankroll another round of tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy."
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Ken Honeycutt demonstrates charging his Kia Soul electric vehicle in
San Lorenzo, Calif., Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
Alexandra Adams, chief policy advocacy officer at the Natural
Resources Defense Council, said the Energy and Commerce bill “gives
polluters free rein to foul the air and water.” Cleaning up U.S.
ports and reducing dangerous methane spewing from oil and gas wells
have traditionally received bipartisan support, she said.
Albert Gore, executive director of the Zero Emission Transportation
Association, said the moves would impact federal investments in
domestic battery and mineral supply chain jobs.
“At a moment when our industry needs certainty more than ever, this
legislation could slam the brakes on America’s progress towards
global competitiveness in manufacturing, while ceding leadership to
other countries,” he said.
The National Ocean Industries Association, which represents the
offshore oil and wind industries, warned against what it called
“premature repeal or phase-out of current tax credits.”
“Sudden changes to the tax code could inject significant
uncertainty, jeopardizing capital allocation, project planning and
job creation” in offshore energy and the broader economy, said Erik
Milito, the group’s president.
Climate programs targeted
The draft text from the Energy and Commerce committee would reclaim
unused billions from several Inflation Reduction Act programs,
repeal sections of the Clean Air Act and emphasize support for oil
and gas drilling.
The plan also pulls back money for the Energy Department's
multi-billion dollar loan program for clean energy, the
Environmental Protection Agency's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund —
commonly known as the “green bank” — and certain multistate and
offshore wind development.
It would rescind funding for clean vehicles, loosen vehicle
emissions standards and cut money for zero-emission port equipment
and air pollution monitoring, while at the same time allow for an
expedited permitting process — opposed by environmental groups — for
natural gas drilling and increasing supply of the nation's Strategic
Petroleum Reserve.
Republicans in the House Ways and Means Committee on Monday released
their own proposal to repeal clean energy tax credits.
Proponents, including some Republicans, say credits boost demand for
technologies, such as solar or electric vehicles, that reduce
harmful emissions and help drive down their cost.
Under Trump, federal government agencies have bolstered fossil fuel
investment, blocked renewable energy sources, rolled back landmark
water and air regulations, cut support for electric vehicles and
reconsidered scientific findings supporting climate action.
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St. John reported from Detroit.
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