The Senate Committee on Finance unveiled its portion of the GOP reconciliation package on Monday night, leaving much to be desired when it comes to cutting Biden-era green energy tax credits, several energy sector experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation. [emphasis, links added]
Compared to the House version, the bill text expands provisions for green energy tax credits granted under President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which not a single Republican voted for in 2022.
The “One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBBA)” bill text released by the Senate Finance Committee on Monday would secure credits for nuclear, hydropower and geothermal technologies and fail to immediately terminate solar and wind credits, a bad sign for those who hoped the Senate would devastate the Democrats’ climate agenda, energy policy experts told the DCNF.
READ: Finance Committee Legislative Text Title Vii by audreystreb on Scribd
“All so-called green-energy initiatives in the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act are profligate pork that are counterproductive to both the economy and the environment,” President of the Heartland Institute James Taylor wrote to the DCNF.
“Any Republican who advocates for keeping any of those horrendous boondoggles will have brought it upon themselves if they [lose the] primaries and [get] voted out of office.”
The final House version would require that wind and solar projects must begin construction within 60 days of the bill’s passage and be operational by the end of 2028 to be eligible for tax credits.
The Senate Finance Committee’s bill eliminates the 60-day construction start requirement and introduces a gradual phase-out for wind and solar tax credits, reducing them to 60% of their original value beginning in 2026, 20% in 2027, and fully phasing them out by 2028, according to the bill text.
Democrats initially touted the IRA as a way to reduce inflation, though Biden later admitted it was a vehicle to promote his climate agenda.
Carving out protections for IRA green energy credits runs counter to President Donald Trump’s energy goals and will lead to a weaker electrical grid, policy experts told the DCNF.
The reconciliation package can still be adjusted, but if the committee has its way, solar and wind subsidies would be gradually phased out instead of immediately eliminated.
Some energy sector experts are concerned that this drawn-out timeline could lead to an indefinite continuation.
Instead of the House bill’s “placed in service” end for solar and wind subsidies, the Senate’s Finance proposal contains a “construction begins” deadline of 2025-2027 or 2029-2031, depending on the specific credit, according to the bill texts and energy sector experts.
“The Senate Finance text for the Big Beautiful Bill dramatically weakens the already disappointing House-passed bill with respect to Green New Scam wind and solar subsidies.
“Under the House bill, wind and solar facilities must be ‘placed in service’ by the end of 2028 to be eligible for subsidies,” Steve Milloy, senior fellow at the Energy & Environment Legal Institute and former Trump EPA transition team member, told the DCNF.
“While that is bad enough, the Senate finance text replaces that with a mere ‘construction must begin’ by the end of 2031 provision.”
Read rest at Daily Caller
Can Senators be subjected to a recall election?
Unfortunately the elections of US Senators and Representatives are controlled by the Constitution so recalls as well as term limits are off the table without a constitutional amendment. And there’s zero chance of getting the required 2/3 votes on such amendment which is against their personal interests.
Thanks mate…..
So if their going t o be traitors and Globalists they don’t deserve to hold a Job in the Government