House Republicans target clean energy tax credits and pollution rules in budget proposal

WASHINGTON — House Republicans are calling for billions of dollars in funding cuts for Biden-era climate and environmental programs, including clean energy tax credits, as lawmakers seek to reverse what one GOP leader called ''the most reckless parts of the engorged climate spending" approved under former President Joe Biden.

Environmental groups warned the proposals would pave the way for more oil and gas industry activity on public lands and increase planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.

The House committees on Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means are set to discuss the plans Tuesday as part of the so-called budget reconciliation process. Several moves are aimed at clawing back billions in spending authorized by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, a Democratic measure intended to slow climate change and boost clean energy such as wind and solar power.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has set a Memorial Day deadline to pass President Donald Trump's big bill of tax breaks and spending cuts, and the GOP has scheduled round-the-clock hearings this week on various sections of the bill before they are stitched together in what will become a massive package.

Republican Rep. Brett Guthrie of Kentucky, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce panel, said his committee's bill, unveiled Sunday, would return $6.5 billion in unspent funds intended for climate programs included in the 2022 law. In an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, he said the plan ''ends spending on Green New Deal-style waste" and claws back money "headed for green boondoggles'' such as grants for environmental and climate justice.

''The legislation would reverse the most reckless parts of the engorged climate spending in the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act,'' Guthrie wrote.

The cuts to climate programs are part of a larger $880 billion in savings by 2034 proposed in the draft legislation that also covers communication and health-related policy, largely targeting Medicaid.

The cuts fit with Trump's 2026 budget proposal, which looks to slash federal spending through a sweeping reorganization of federal agencies as well as steep cuts to disease research and, especially, clean energy and policies intended to address climate change. Congress ultimately decides the spending and tax plans.

In Trump's first few months back in the White House, the administration has broadly gone after environmental and climate initiatives, many of which were put into place under the Biden administration, pledging to dismantle what Trump calls the Democrats' ''green new scam.''

Groups decry the proposals

The GOP proposal ''guts investments that are cutting energy costs" for families, ''powering a domestic manufacturing boom and delivering essential health care to the communities that need it most,'' said Lena Moffitt, executive director of the environmental group Evergreen Action.

The Republican move to loosen pollution standards ''would mean more smog in our streets,'' while cuts to environmental justice block grants ''would force low-income communities to pay more for dirtier energy," she added. ''Republicans are sacrificing clean energy on the altar of Big Oil to bankroll another round of tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy."

Alexandra Adams, chief policy advocacy officer at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the Energy and Commerce bill ''gives polluters free rein to foul the air and water.'' Cleaning up U.S. ports and reducing dangerous methane spewing from oil and gas wells have traditionally received bipartisan support, she said.

Albert Gore, executive director of the Zero Emission Transportation Association, said the moves would impact federal investments in domestic battery and mineral supply chain jobs.

''At a moment when our industry needs certainty more than ever, this legislation could slam the brakes on America's progress towards global competitiveness in manufacturing, while ceding leadership to other countries,'' he said.

The National Ocean Industries Association, which represents the offshore oil and wind industries, warned against what it called ''premature repeal or phase-out of current tax credits.''

''Sudden changes to the tax code could inject significant uncertainty, jeopardizing capital allocation, project planning and job creation'' in offshore energy and the broader economy, said Erik Milito, the group's president.

Climate programs targeted

The draft text from the Energy and Commerce committee would reclaim unused billions from several Inflation Reduction Act programs, repeal sections of the Clean Air Act and emphasize support for oil and gas drilling.

The plan also pulls back money for the Energy Department's multi-billion dollar loan program for clean energy, the Environmental Protection Agency's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund — commonly known as the ''green bank'' — and certain multistate and offshore wind development.

It would rescind funding for clean vehicles, loosen vehicle emissions standards and cut money for zero-emission port equipment and air pollution monitoring, while at the same time allow for an expedited permitting process — opposed by environmental groups — for natural gas drilling and increasing supply of the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Republicans in the House Ways and Means Committee on Monday released their own proposal to repeal clean energy tax credits.

Proponents, including some Republicans, say credits boost demand for technologies, such as solar or electric vehicles, that reduce harmful emissions and help drive down their cost.

Under Trump, federal government agencies have bolstered fossil fuel investment, blocked renewable energy sources, rolled back landmark water and air regulations, cut support for electric vehicles and reconsidered scientific findings supporting climate action.

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St. John reported from Detroit.

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Read more of AP's climate coverage at http://www.apnews.com/climate-and-environment.

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Alexa St. John is an Associated Press climate reporter. Follow her on X: @alexa_stjohn. Reach her at ast.john@ap.org.

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