Four Republican senators pen letter of opposition to wholescale repeal of energy tax credits contained within the Inflation Reduction Act to incentivize renewable-energy manufacturing, development and use.
In hopes of influencing negotiations about a pending budget-reconciliation bill, four moderate Republican U.S. senators this week publicly went to the defense of energy tax credits contained in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022.
The letter is couched in terms of opposing any moves to wholly repeal the credits in a period when some GOP agendas have favored repealing the IRA’s climate-related elements.
In March, a coalition of oil and gas producers appealed to Congress to get rid of clean-energy tax credits that Democrat-backed groups successfully adopted into law under the Biden-ear IRA. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this year also has precipitously blocked and frozen billions of dollars in grants from a federally backed Green Bank for renewable-energy projects, leading to a battle that is unfolding in federal court.
Senators John Curtis of Utah, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Thom Tillos of North Carolina issued the letter in appeal to U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican of South Dakota.
In the letter, the four senators “emphasized the importance of maintaining a stable and predictable tax framework to promote domestic energy development.” The letter cited the role of tax credits in boosting new domestic manufacturing and investment, reducing consumer utility bills and offering reliability to businesses already basing their investments on credits.
The letter outlined downsides of ditching the credits: “A wholesale repeal, or the termination of certain individual credits, would create uncertainty, jeopardizing capital allocation, long-term project planning, and job creation in the energy sector and across our broader economy.”
Instead, the letter urges “a targeted, pragmatic approach” to ensuring federal “efficiency, accountability, fiscal sustainability, and implementation that follows the rule of law” and “smart policies” to bolster domestic energy production and business competitiveness.
The letter from the Republican senators follows on the heels of a similar letter issued March 9 by 21 Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives to Jason Smith, Republican chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee.
