The letter, signed by the mayors of 39 states and local leaders, was marked by the state and local governments responsible for thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in investment before President Donald Trump freezes. Funds are urging Congress to protect all available clean energy tax credits.
These tax credits and the bills that made them possible – the Inflation Reduction Act, or the Biden administration’s signature climate policy, the IRA, has created 400,000 new jobs and allowed 750 cleaners to invest more than $422 billion. It helped launch the energy project. But that drew the rage of the Trump administration. One of Trump’s first actions was to sign an executive order suspending funding for programs under the IRA, but the tax credits require Congressional actions for now.
Republican-led states benefit most from credits, and freezing them will hurt communities around the country, letter It was sent to congressional leaders of the Senate Finance and Means Committee to warn late Friday.
“By eliminating, rolling back or adjusting clean energy incentives, we overturn countless energy projects and jobs across our country, putting millions of American jobs at risk, and everyday American costs. “It could increase, spend billions of dollars in taxpayer dollars, and force American employment overseas.” The letter was signed by 133 local leaders representing the 25 million Americans, led by both Democrats and Republicans.
Trump is frozen in the Climate Fund. Can he do that?
The IRA is the country’s largest single investment in climate change tackling, allocating billions of dollars through grants, loans and tax incentives to promote the energy transition from fossil fuels. The bill continues to face partisanship after being passed without a single Republican vote. attacksome members of the Republican Party of Congress began to support money as money began to flow into their communities. According to a letter from local leaders, 85% of the investments announced and 53% of new clean energy jobs derived from the IRA are in districts represented by Republicans.
The 13 tax credits created by the IRA for state and local governments have led to the creation of electric vehicle charging stations, solar power generation in government buildings and more. Over 500 local governments use them in the first year of available tax credits.
Phoenix mayor Kate Gallego said the suspension of tax credits created uncertainty for local governments and businesses regarding the financing status of various projects. She said that in many cases, credits come in the form of city refunds. Phoenix has already placed orders for hybrid electric buses thanks to incentives, and has received a $15 million grant to expand its EV charging network and address the city’s air quality issues. The city is trying to find out if the funds are still available as city leaders are working on next year’s budget, she said.
Without the certainty that the funds are there, many projects cannot move forward. And if the IRA tax credit is removed, it will not only increase electricity bills and cut jobs for Americans around the country, but also reduce jobs, the letter says.
“Whether you’re interested in helping people manage their energy consumption or helping American innovation or energy independence in the US, the clean energy tax credits and direct wages are: “We went ahead with the agenda,” Gallego said. Climate mayora network of mayors focused on climate action. Most of the letter signers are members.
“It’s disrupting morale”: Trump’s climate funding freeze puts tribes and community groups on the frontier
The uncertain future of tax credits is one result of the Trump administration’s government-wide funding freeze, touching on court battles and warnings from experts that the country is in full swing Constitutional crisis. A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration cannot suspend funds approved by Congress to state and local governments. The agency is still keeping the money down.
As a result, a coalition of 22 Democrat Attorney Generals filed an motion to enforce the judge’s ruling and filed a motion for a provisional injunction at one of the trials to stop the funding freeze. Monday, a The federal judge ruled The Trump administration must immediately recover all frozen federal funds: a state victory.
“The funds are borrowed by law to the people of Arizona,” said Arizona Attorney General Chris Mays. statement Announcement of legal submissions. “Trump can try all the tricks he’s raising his sleeves to avoid the constitution, but I’m there to stop him.”
Modified: An earlier version of this story falsely stated the impact that President Trump’s executive order had on the clean energy tax credits made available to state and local governments through the Inflation Reduction Act. The tax credit was not suspended as it would require legislative actions.
