Senate poised to start undoing green subsidies in Big Beautiful Bill

The U.S. Senate will soon start debate on H.R.1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The latest version of this reconciliation bill includes many provisions addressing the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) “green” subsidies that will help to undo the Green New Deal.

Daren Bakst, Director of CEI’s Center for Energy and Environment, stated:

The IRA includes a centrally-planned scheme to radically change how Americans produce and use energy. To their credit, not a single Republican in the House or Senate voted for the IRA.

Many Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have rightfully stressed the importance of dismantling the Green New Deal. There’s no way to do so without getting rid of the IRA “green” subsidies that are at the heart of the Green New Deal.

The latest version of the Senate reconciliation bill that is now on the Senate floor is better at addressing these IRA subsidies than the previous Senate language. The bill is more aggressive at getting rid of the litany of tax credits that would encourage the country to shift to unreliable sources of electricity, like wind and solar. It also repeals harmful tax credits that would try and help kill off gas-powered cars and natural gas appliances.

The bill rescinds unobligated funds for the numerous IRA programs at the Environmental Protection Agency and repeals the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, containing a particularly infamous agency slush fund the Biden EPA used to create billion-dollar handouts for the use of a handful of favored nonprofit organizations.

The Senate reconciliation text in its current form preferably would be stronger in getting rid of the IRA subsidies, but it is a meaningful step towards helping to dismantle the Green New Deal. Now the Senate and then the House need to get this legislative text addressing the IRA subsidies across the finish line.

Much more will be needed to undo the Green New Deal, including repealing IRA text for programs that could not be addressed due to Senate procedural rules. Further, much of the Green New Deal is regulatory in nature, and while the Trump administration is being proactive in addressing these Biden administration rules, Congress should identify what it can to undo these rules.

Hopefully, the Senate’s IRA subsidy text will only get stronger through amendments. So long as it is not weakened, this Senate text will be a victory for Americans and demonstrates that the swamp doesn’t always win.