LA CROSSE – On July 4, President Trump signed into law the most anti-environmental bill in U.S. history, drastically cutting access to healthcare for millions of Americans. As Vice President JD Vance visits La Crosse to promote the bill, local leaders are raising their voices about its negative impacts.
On Thursday, La Crosse Mayor Shaundel Washington-Spivey, staff from U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s office, health experts, labor leaders, and clean energy workers gathered at The Nature Place for a roundtable titled “Community Impacts of the Reconciliation Bill: What Now?” The discussion focused on the rollback of clean energy tax credits, the health consequences tied to climate change, and cuts to Medicaid.
“Republicans’ budget bill isn’t only kicking thousands of Wisconsinites off their health care, gutting Medicaid, and leaving our rural hospitals out to dry – but it’s also jacking up energy costs for families and doing serious damage to our environment,” Baldwin said in a statement. “Donald Trump and Republicans said they were going to lower costs for families – instead, Wisconsin families are footing the bill for huge tax breaks for the rich, paying more to cool and heat their homes, and getting their health care terminated.”
The reconciliation bill sunsets the Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit and the Clean Energy Production Tax Credit in 2028 – four years earlier than originally intended – and requires projects to begin construction by July 2026 to receive the full credit. Other incentives, like the Residential Clean Energy Credit and the Energy Efficient Home Credit, will now expire at the end of 2025 instead of 2032.
“The reconciliation bill has made it harder and more expensive for average homeowners to move forward with solar – plain and simple,” said Tomas Herrera of Ethos Power Cooperative, a solar installer based in Viroqua. “The repeal strips away a tax credit that wasn’t some exotic subsidy, but a straightforward, pro-consumer incentive that encouraged families to invest in their property using their own tax dollars.”
“The removal of the credit means the tax break homeowners could count on has essentially been redirected to fund tax cuts for the wealthy instead of the average Wisconsin homeowner,” Herrera added.
Health professionals also warned about the consequences.
“The budget reconciliation bill includes nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts and the expiration of Affordable Care Act subsidies, which the Congressional Budget Office estimates will result in 17 million more uninsured Americans by 2034, primarily affecting low-income adults and disadvantaged communities,” said Dr. Cameron J. Kiersch. “Limited access to care for acute and chronic conditions remains a major driver of poor health outcomes. Emerging evidence also links air and water pollution as well as microplastics to respiratory, circulatory, and reproductive harm. Continued dependence on fossil fuels and extractive industries will intensify these risks and widen health disparities.”
Other health consequences tied to climate change include higher risk of mosquito- and tick-borne illnesses, such as Lyme disease, and increases in toxic blue-green algae in lakes and streams.
“Between the cuts to clean energy tax credits and cuts to Medicaid, Wisconsinites are going to really feel the squeeze on their wallets,” said Casey Hicks, federal government affairs manager with Wisconsin Conservation Voters. “Despite the Vice President’s and Rep. Van Orden’s best efforts to distract, estimates show that we can expect our electricity bills in Wisconsin to increase by as much as six percent over the next four years. On top of that, we now expect to see clean energy projects killed and along with them good-paying jobs.”
According to a report by Energy Innovation, Wisconsin could see a loss of 11,000 jobs by 2030 and a $1.7 billion decrease in its GDP.
“This disastrous bill guts critical clean energy tax credits and directly threatens union jobs,” said Carly Ebben Eaton, state policy manager at the BlueGreen Alliance. “Derrick Van Orden betrayed his constituents by voting to dismantle these vital investments, which will lead to job losses and higher energy costs for constituents in Wisconsin’s 3rd District.”
La Crosse city leaders also raised concerns.
“We are looking into the major impacts this will have on the city, city projects, and our Climate Action Plan,” said Mayor Washington-Spivey.
The bill’s passage comes after the hottest year on record, with Wisconsin enduring dangerous air quality from wildfire smoke and, most recently, a 1,000-year flood in the Milwaukee area. Experts warn that repealing clean energy credits at a time of growing electricity demand – partly due to incoming data centers – will slow the fastest solutions available: solar, wind, and battery storage.
Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges residents to contact members of Congress who voted in favor of the bill, such as Rep. Derrick Van Orden, to share the impacts they expect to feel in the coming years.
Watch this video featuring roundtable participant Tomas Herrera.
