WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives voted 217-215 to pass Speaker McCarthy’s bill to raise the federal debt limit and gut the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) historic clean energy investments and tax credits. The proposal threatens at least 60,000 jobs that are estimated to be created by the 155 major clean energy projects E2 has tracked since the IRA passed in August.
Sandra Purohit, federal advocacy director for the national nonprofit business group E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs):
“Pitting hundreds of thousands of future American jobs against defaulting on our nation’s bills and causing a recession is anti-business, anti-worker, and dangerous. This proposal is short-sighted and would repeal America’s ability to build a robust clean energy supply chain right when the rest of the world is sprinting ahead.
“Revoking these clean energy incentives not only takes away federal investment but billions in new private investments from hundreds of towns and counties across America — mostly in Red states — as well as the jobs that came with them.
“No one wins choosing between this proposal and the U.S. defaulting on its debt, but Americans in Red states and Blue states will both lose a great deal if this irresponsible game continues.”
Ariel Fan, CEO and founder of Los Angeles-based electric car charger company GreenWealth Energy said:
“Thanks to the visionary climate policies passed in Washington, our company has tripled in size and continues to expand. These policies have opened up an unprecedented economic opportunity for businesses of all sizes across America. Repealing them now, just as we are gaining momentum, would deal a devastating setback to our industry and our country’s efforts to address the urgent challenge of climate change.”
Eric Berman, cleantech investor and board member of Seattle-based E8, a cleantech investment group, said:
“This creates uncertainty in the stability of policy, which is terrible for business and investment in any sector. It is backward-looking in terms of where markets are going. And it will ultimately put the United States at a disadvantage to foreign countries and companies as they seek to capitalize on our inaction.”
Bob Keefe, executive director of E2 said:
“We’re in the middle of the biggest economic boom in generations because Congress last year finally got America in the game in the global clean energy revolution. Now some members of Congress want to roll back the very policies that are driving billions of dollars in investments and tens of thousands of jobs? It just doesn’t make sense.”
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Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) is a national, nonpartisan group of business leaders investors, and professionals from every sector of the economy who advocate for smart policies that are good for the economy and good for the environment. Our members have founded or funded more than 2,500 companies, created more than 600,000 jobs, and manage more than $100 billion in venture and private equity capital. For more information, see http://www.e2.org or follow us on Twitter at @e2org.