The House of Representatives of the United States recently passed President Trump's wide-ranging bill to continue 2017 tax cuts and make greater changes to spending. The legislation moved forward when it was passed by just one vote: 215 to 214, after negotiating inside the Republican Party. It has been passed to the Senate for more consideration.
The proposal calls for scaling back benefits for low-income families and reversing some climate measures introduced under President Biden. Important changes include removing incentives for EVs and projects using renewable energy. By lowering the amount of royalties drillers pay for oil and gas on national lands, the bill works against previous attempts to reduce pollution.
Independent groups have said that this bill might harm the country's economy. Energy Innovation says that this legislation might result in about 830,000 fewer jobs by the year 2030. The sectors where most of the projected job losses will happen are solar panel production, electric vehicle building, and industries that deal with clean energy. The group pointed out that a drop in investments and people buying things would hurt the economy further.
The bill is also expected to make energy for households more expensive. In less than a decade, households in the U.S. may have to pay an additional $230 on their energy bills each year. Such an increase would occur if governments decoupled from renewable energy and leaned more on oil and gas. It is argued that the changes will negatively affect low- and middle-income people more than high-income people.
Environmental policy experts have raised worries about the likely rise in greenhouse gas emissions under the changes. By 2035, the bill will result in 260 million tonnes of extra emissions, outpacing Spain's current annual level. While overall emissions in the U.S. are expected to keep going down, the speed of this decrease will be lower, which means more extreme weather and further environmental damage.
There are now complaints from industry groups and labor organizations about the bill. According to the SEIA, the bill could lead to a loss of 300,000 jobs in solar and storage over the next several years. Officials from the BlueGreen Alliance and several construction unions have agreed that the Inflation Reduction Act has led to job growth in challenging parts of the country. They say that removing clean energy incentives could harm the jobs and growth chances for a large group of workers.