Today, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, introduced the Energy Freedom Act, legislation to repeal more than 20 green energy tax subsidies created or expanded by the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Representative Josh Brecheen (R-OK) and Representative Chip Roy (R-TX) are leading companion legislation in the House.
"America's energy policy should be about keeping the lights on and costs low—not lining the pockets of special interests," said Chairman Lee. "The Biden Administration's green energy subsidies have rigged the market, driven up costs, and left our grid more vulnerable. The Energy Freedom Act rips out these taxpayer-funded giveaways, reduces the deficit, and puts America back on a path to energy security, affordability, and reliability."
"The Inflation Reduction Act, better known as the Green New Scam, is providing massive unlimited subsidies to billion dollar corporations and Chinese manufacturers to the detriment of American energy freedom and dominance,” said Representative Roy. “It is responsible for building ineffective, unattractive, and unwanted energy projects enriching paper investors over the objections of the people living in Texas communities I represent. These subsidies need to go away immediately. If Republicans want to unleash American energy dominance and support the President's energy agenda, we have no choice but to fully - and immediately - repeal the Green New Scam.”
“The Democrats’ so-called ‘Inflation Reduction Act’, signed into law in 2022, is nothing more than a massive, taxpayer-funded gift to green energy lobbyists and their leftist billionaire employers,” said Congressman Josh Brecheen. “Families in Oklahoma should not have to subsidize unreliable energy that makes their electricity bills more expensive and inflates other costs. By repealing these costly and reckless green energy subsidies, the Energy Freedom Act also brings us back to an energy policy that puts American workers first, and stops enriching battery and solar industries in China.”
“The IRA turned our tax code into a multi-trillion energy entitlement program, creating subsidies without caps, sunsets, or accountability,” said Adam Michel, Director of Tax Policy Studies at the Cato Institute. “Repealing it isn’t radical—it’s fiscal triage. If Congress is serious about energy independence, reliable energy, or the national debt, repealing the IRA is the only responsible path forward.”
“There is a lot of focus on the high price tag of the IRA "green" subsidies. The cost though goes beyond the dollars. The tax credits form a radical central plan to shift our nation to unreliable electricity and to change how Americans use energy, including what cars we drive. Such efforts will devastate Americans, especially the poor,” said Daren Bakst of the Competitive Enterprise Institute. “Any legislator wanting to get rid of the Green New Deal can only fulfill this objective by getting rid of these tax credits. They are the foundation of the Green New Deal. I commend Senator Lee, Representative Brecheen, and Representative Roy for their leadership on the Energy Freedom Act. Support for this legislation should be a no-brainer for conservative lawmakers and anyone who believes in individual freedom, fiscal responsibility, and the importance of affordable and reliable energy.”
"President Biden’s Green New Scam puts American taxpayers on the hook for over $1 trillion in handouts to scam operators and to unreliable, intermittent, and costly energy sources,” said David McIntosh, President of Club for Growth. “This misguided policy diverts investment, stifles economic growth, drives up energy prices for families and businesses, and worsens our national debt. Club for Growth applauds Senator Mike Lee, Representative Josh Brecheen, and Representative Chip Roy for championing this commonsense legislation to stop it."
The Energy Freedom Act is supported by: Advancing American Freedom, Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions (AWED), Always on Energy Research, American Energy Alliance, American Energy Institute, Americans for Prosperity, Caesar Rodney Institute, Center for a Free Economy, Center for Freedom and Prosperity, Club for Growth, Energy Freedom Fund, Energy & Environment Legal Institute (E&E Legal), Frontiers of Freedom, Independent Women's Voice, Heartland Impact, The Heartland Institute, Less Government, Rio Grande Foundation, Tea Party Patriots Action, The Buckeye Institute, The John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy, Truth in Energy and Climate.
Background
Enacted in 2022, the IRA created or expanded more than 20 green energy tax credits, which combined are projected to cost taxpayers between $825 billion (CBO) and over $1 trillion in the next decade, and up to $4.7 trillion by 2050. These subsidies force utilities to overbuild unreliable sources of energy, driving up costs and undermining grid stability.
The Energy Freedom Act would:
Eliminate each energy tax credit created or expanded by the IRA for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025;
Save American taxpayers nearly one trillion dollars over the next decade.
Protect grid reliability and lower consumer energy costs by creating a level playing field for all energy sources.
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