A top White House climate adviser touts the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act in Republican states
[ad_1]
John Podesta, the White House’s top adviser on international climate policy, pointed out the benefits on Tuesday in Republican states and districts of the benefits provided by the climate law signed by Biden, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Podesta said in a speech in Washington, DC, that he is confident that the law, which provides billions of dollars in tax credits to help consumers buy electric cars and companies produce renewable energy, can continue to succeed if Republicans control the White House. and Congress in the November elections.
US House Republicans have tried to repeal part or all of the legislation 42 times, Podesta said, despite most of its jobs being created in congressional districts represented by Republicans.
“Understandably, people are questioning whether that investment can really stick regardless of who is in charge here in Washington. My answer to the question of whether the Inflation Reduction Act has staying power is ‘yes,'” Podesta said at an event organized by Third Way.
He said that even though no Republicans voted for the IRA when it was passed in 2022, states and districts led by those lawmakers accounted for 58% of the new jobs created as a result of investment in the law, according to the rights group Climate Power.
Podesta cited several states, such as Oklahoma and South Carolina, where Republican politicians have publicly celebrated state investments that have come about as a result of IRA tax benefits. He addressed a letter written by House Republicans that urged party leadership to protect the IRA provisions.
A letter to House Speaker Michael Johnson this month by 18 Republican representatives urged him to withdraw the entire IRA if the party wins the House and Senate.
“A complete repeal would create a dire situation where we would spend billions of taxpayer dollars and get nothing in return,” the letter said.
Podesta told the event that more than 90% of the IRA funds available for this fiscal year have been awarded and that he has been meeting with cabinet secretaries to ensure that the funds are distributed by the end of the year.
He said the Treasury intends to complete its final guidance for the IRA hydrogen tax credit, as well as guidance for existing nuclear power plants, by the end of the year.
– Valerie Volcovici, Reuters
[ad_2]
Source link
