The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023, a bill that aims to raise the federal debt limit while reducing spending, while also repealing nearly all of the clean energy measures required by the Inflationary Reduction Act (IRA).
“House leadership is trying to halt the nation’s accelerating pace toward a clean energy future,” said Gregory Wetstone, president and CEO of the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE). “The IRA tax breaks that would be repealed by this legislation have spurred American companies to announce dozens of new clean energy production and manufacturing projects.
“The rollback of these popular programs would hurt our economy, undermine U.S. competitiveness in the booming global clean energy market, and undermine our climate goals,” he added.
The 217-215 vote went along party lines, with only four Republicans joining 211 Democrats in voting “no.”
“The Inflation Reduction Act has generated billions of dollars in new clean energy investment and supported a renaissance in domestic manufacturing,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). “The 255,000 Americans who work in the U.S. solar and storage industries are calling on congressional champions to defend these job-creating policies.”
Jason Grumet, CEO of the American Clean Power Association (ACP), emphasized the deeply divisive nature of the bill.
“No American industry enjoys being used as a pawn in partisan political negotiations,” he said, noting, however, that ACP countries remain adamant that Congress and the Biden administration “will not halt private sector investment in American clean energy production and manufacturing.” .”
“In the past nine months, 46 new clean energy generation and production facilities have been announced, creating high-paying jobs in communities across the country,” he noted.
The vote is likely to trigger rounds of negotiations between the Republican leadership, key Democrats and the Biden administration.
“We urge House leadership to negotiate a clean increase in the debt limit, avoid the risk of a national default, and support the ongoing renewable energy transition that Americans want and scientists say we desperately need,” Wetstone noted.
Cameraman ElevenPhotographs on Remove spills
