Eighteen members of the House Republican Conference have written to Speaker Mike Johnson, emphasizing the need to “prioritize business and market certainty” amid calls to repeal or amend the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Signed into law by President Joseph Biden on August 16, 2022, the IRA was approved by both the Senate and the House of Representatives the previous week without any Republican support.
Even though no Republicans voted for the bill, investments stemming from the bill have predominantly flowed into Republican Congressional districts, according to their historical voting patterns.
Source: Environmental Entrepreneurs
The letter was delivered on August 6, 2024, just one day before the two-year anniversary of the IRA’s passage through the Senate, which was finalized by a tie-breaking vote from Vice President Kamala Harris.
The letter critiques the bill as flawed, arguing that it will distort energy markets. Yet, it also asserts that “American energy dominance increases national security, and creates American jobs,” indirectly suggesting that the IRA supports ‘American energy dominance’. The Representatives report that many companies have leveraged the energy tax credits to fund significant investments in new U.S. energy infrastructure. Furthermore, they express concerns from industry leaders and constituents alike, who fear the existing energy tax regime may “once again be turned on its head due to Republican repeal efforts.”
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. 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.
The Republican Representatives are:
- Andrew R. Garbarino – New York’s 2nd District
- David G. Valadao – California’s 22nd District
- Lori Chavez-DeRemer – Oregon’s 5th District
- Marcus J. Molinaro – New York’s 19th District
- Erin Houchin – Indiana’s 9th District
- Anthony D’Esposito – New York’s 4th District
- Michael V. Lawler – New York’s 17th District
- Jen A. Kiggans – Virginia’s 2nd District
- Nick LaLota – New York’s 1st District
- Young Kim – California’s 40th District
- John R. Curtis – Utah’s 3rd District
- Don Bacon – Nebraska’s 2nd District
- Thomas H. Kean, Jr. – New Jersey’s 7th District
- David P. Joyce – Ohio’s 14th District
- Mariannette Miller-Meeks, M.D. – Iowa’s 1st District
- Juan Ciscomani – Arizona’s 6th District
- Earl L. “Buddy” Carter – Georgia’s 1st District
- Mark E. Amodei – Nevada’s 2nd District
The letter was spearheaded by Representative Andrew R. Garbarino of New York, who in August 2022 voiced his opposition to the IRA, labeling it as misleading and potentially harmful to the economy:
I voted AGAINST the deceptively named ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ just like I voted against the reckless Build Back Better scheme. Two hundred and thirty economists agree that the so-called Inflation Reduction Act is expected to contribute to skyrocketing inflation and burden the American economy. Aside from completely failing to reduce inflation, this bill fails to address the SALT deduction cap while raising taxes that will impact the middle class.
The debate over the IRA’s naming and its effectiveness is debated. Political pundits suggest that Senator Joe Manchin’s rationale for the name was a politically palatable counter to the criticized “Green New Deal,” not an effective anti-inflation measure. While it is clear that the peak of the nation’s recent inflationary peak aligned with the IRA’s signing, and that inflation has since fallen precipitously since the signing, economic analyses have not demonstrated a causative impact on inflation.
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