Billions in handouts and subsidies for corporations and other special interests.
WASHINGTON DC (08/16/2022) – Today, President Biden is returning to the White House to sign the Inflation Reduction Act, a spending package that Democrats pushed through Congress using the budget reconciliation process. The bill will cost an estimated $437 billion, with $369 billion allocated for investments in what Democrats are calling “energy security and climate change.”
The bill is full of incentives for renewable energy technologies, chief among an extension of wind and solar tax credits significantly increasing subsidies for them, provided additional criteria are met during construction. It also offers new tax credits for domestic manufacturing of solar panels and wind turbine parts as well as energy storage projects sited separately from renewable generation facilities. Wind and solar projects will get an extension on tax credits for production and investment, as would stand-alone energy storage projects.
AEA President Thomas Pyle issued the following statement:
It has been twenty months and the best the Democrats could do is pledge to give away hundreds of billions of dollars in federal subsidies to large corporations and Democratic special interest groups over the next ten years. Apparently addressing climate change is now just an excuse to pay off your political supporters at the expense of already cash-strapped American families. This measure will increase utility bills and cause more pain at the pump, not less. The Republicans should promise to undo this whole mess if they replace the leadership in the House and Senate this November.
AEA Director of Policy and Federal Affairs Kenny Stein issued the following statement:
This legislation is nothing more than a collection of handouts to special interests, historic only in the number of subsidies to be distributed. Despite its name, the legislation will not do anything to fight inflation. By increasing a range of taxes on energy it is far more likely to increase inflation. At a time when energy bills are already soaring thanks to the Biden administration’s war on affordable energy, the taxes and distortions to energy markets in this legislation could not come at a worse time.
Additional Resources:
- The Machin/Schumer Inflation Reduction Act of 22 Will Inflate Fossil Energy Costs for Americans
- Renewables Get Huge Tax Incentives in Manchin/Schumer Inflation Bill
- Biofuel Provisions in the Manchin/Schumer Inflation Bill
- Machin/Schumer Bill Does Not Reduce Inflation and Hurts Coal States
- Senator Manchin Thinks He Has a Deal on Pipeline Permitting Reform
For media inquiries please contact:
THOMAS.PYLE@ENERGYDC.ORG