In 2022, Congress passed landmark legislation to boost our economy, reduce energy costs for consumers, strengthen our energy security and, of course, reduce emissions. Roughly two and a half years later, this law has already spurred $600 billion worth of investments in the manufacture and deployment of clean energy, clean vehicles, building electrification and carbon management technology. These investments have benefitted communities across the country, particularly the “energy communities” that powered America’s rise as a global superpower.
Today, these investments, including clean energy tax credits with a history of-bipartisan support, are in danger. And the people most likely to suffer when those investments are frozen, repealed, or made inaccessible will be those same communities who not only poured blood, sweat and tears into building this country, but who are all too familiar with being treated like collateral damage.
Today, many of these cities and towns are once again brimming with possibility as folks see the chance to not only be able to provide a decent life for their families, but to build a community where their kids might decide to stay home instead of moving away to chase economic opportunity. Pulling the rug out from them is not only heartless, it’s also bad business.
Don’t take it from me: Jim Farley, the president of Ford Motor Co, recently said that repealing the tax credits will result in sweeping job losses across the four battery plants Ford is currently constructing in Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee, and my home state of Ohio. As NextEra CEO John Ketchum said on an earnings call last summer, “why would you cut credits that are creating jobs, create a much needed property tax base in rural America, that flow to customers that result in lower power prices, that attract new investments,” particularly as we look to deploy resources faster as demand accelerates.
This reality is stark enough that Republicans and Democrats alike have focused on the business case in defending tax credits that are generating billions of dollars of investment in their states and districts. Eighteen Republican members of the House (fourteen of whom are still serving in the House) sent a letter to leadership urging the preservation of the tax credits which “have spurred innovation, incentivized investment, and created good jobs in many parts of the country.”
These investments aren’t just creating jobs; they’re also keeping electricity prices low and boosting our energy security. What’s more, they’re helping support the competitiveness of U.S. companies who depend on global markets like the EU, which has enacted policies to disadvantage companies that don’t use clean energy to produce their goods. No matter the rhetoric, these investments and the benefits they provide aren’t partisan; they’re fundamentally about making sure America can maintain its economic influence in the face of a global economy that’s shifting rapidly below our feet. Repealing them would reduce U.S. GDP by as much as $510 billion over the next ten years, while ceding global leadership to other countries who have the foresight to skate to where the puck is going.
Preserving these investments, on the other hand, would be a bet on America’s future and our ability to outcompete anyone on a level playing field. That’s a bet that policymakers of all political stripes should be willing to make.