MADISON – Ahead of a planned 1 a.m. ET Wednesday committee vote to move the Republican-led massive reconciliation bill to the House floor, Wisconsin Conservation Voters released the following statement from Federal Government Affairs Manager Casey Hicks:
“This extreme and reckless reconciliation bill would stop Wisconsin’s clean energy progress in its tracks. The bill House Speaker Mike Johnson is attempting to jam through in the dead of night means higher gas and electricity costs for struggling families and businesses, tanking the U.S. manufacturing resurgence, and handing leadership to China.
“This funding has helped launch projects like building the City of Appleton’s new sustainable library’s geothermal system, which will save taxpayers $71,000 a year in energy savings. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding has led to the Sauk Prairie School District installing 150kw of solar on their high school. The Apple River Solar Project in Polk County, which will sustain 150 jobs and generate $36 million in direct economic impact over 20 years, will be eligible for IRA tax credits. These are just a few examples of the 82 eligible projects across the state that can lead to over 42,000 jobs created in Wisconsin.
“We need our congressional delegation to ensure the clean energy credits are restored before the bill goes to the House floor, or simply vote no. Members of Congress who vote for this bill will have to explain to their constituents why they voted to cut good energy and manufacturing jobs and raise home energy costs to fund tax cuts for billionaires.”
According to a new analysis of the reconciliation bill, the bill would increase household energy costs by an average of $120 per year over the next five years and $230 per year in 10 years. This anti-environmental billionaire tax scam would also limit our ability to build new power generation fast enough to meet rising electricity demands, and cost our economy more than 830,000 jobs in 2030.
A new Center for American Progress report shows that terminating almost all federal clean energy investments will increase electricity rates. It will also raise the price of gasoline by between 25 cents and 37 cents per gallon, costing households more than $400 billion on energy over the next decade, including a $110 increase in household spending on electricity in 2026.
