The One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed in the House in a vote of 218 to 214. The bill had garnered much bipartisan support since discussion began in early spring. Yet in the end the only Republican congressional members who voted against it were Pennsylvania’s Brian Fitzpatrick and Kentucky’s Thomas Massie.
In the end, the bill passed is what narrowly passed the Senate 51-to-50.
The One Big Beautiful Bill act makes sweeping changes to U.S. clean energy industrial policy, including repealing the investment tax credit and production tax credit for solar and wind projects several years ahead of schedule.
The three Republican who voted against the Senate bill were Susan Collins of Maine, Thorn Tillis of North Carolina, and Rand Paul of Kentucky, yet they were not the only ones who demonstrated bipartisan support for clean energy until the final vote. Three Republican Senators, Jodi Ernst (Iowa), Chuck Grassley (Iowa) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) proposed an amendment to change the language before it won Senate approval, which never went to the floor for a vote. However, these three ended up voting for the bill with no changes.
Earlier in the month, thirteen members of Congress urged Senators to take a closer look at several provisions within the bill that they acknowledge will stall investment in and development of clean energy projects. The letter stated that the Senate has a “critical opportunity to restore common sense and deliver a truly pro-energy growth final bill that protects taxpayers while also unleashing the potential of U.S. energy producers, manufacturers, and workers.”
The letter was signed by:
- Jen A. Kiggans
- Brian K. Fitzpatrick
- Juan Ciscomani
- Nick LaLota
- Michael V Lawler
- Andrew R. Garbarino
- Don Bacon
- Mark E. Amodei
- Gabe Evans
- Young Kim
- David G. Valadao
- Robert Bresnahan, Jr.
- Thomas H. Kean, Jr.
Of these members of Congress, only Fitzpatrick voted against passage of the bill.
Fallout is now expected in Republican districts across the nation, which received most of the funding created by the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and hosted most of the clean energy private sector investment announcements.
Source: E2
With roughly 80% of the private investment announcements spurred by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 having occurred in Republican districts, much is at stake, not the least of which are jobs. The Department of Treasury said IRA investments are expected to support 1.5 million jobs over the next decade, based on analysis by the Labor Energy Partnership.
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