MADISON, Wis. — New reporting from UpNorthNews slams Congressman Tom Tiffany for working to make gas and utilities less affordable over his nearly 20-year political career — all while receiving thousands from the energy industry. Tom Tiffany voted for MAGA policies that have increased costs for the average American family by nearly $181 on utility bills in 2025. While in the state legislature and as a member of the Joint Finance Committee, Tiffany voted to significantly reduce funding for the Citizens Utility Board, a consumer watchdog that works to lower utility rate hikes for customers in Wisconsin. 

UpNorthNews: Tom Tiffany says affordability is a priority, so what does his record say on gas and utilities?
By: Pat Kreitlow

  • In his latest TV ad, Rep. Tom Tiffany is standing alongside a cow in a barn while explaining his latest campaign. “The cost of living is udderly ridiculous,” he jokes. “I’m running for governor to make life more affordable.”
  • But Tiffany was part of Republican control of the Wisconsin Legislature over the past 16 years and is in the majority now in the US House, so it is worth asking what his record as a legislator and a congressman says about his priorities when it comes to the affordability of things like utility bills. 
  • Tiffany’s votes over the years reveal a pattern of support for policies that lead to higher energy costs for consumers while simultaneously receiving thousands of dollars in energy industry campaign contributions.
  • On the first day of President Donald Trump’s second term, he signed executive orders to speed up exports of liquified natural gas (LNG). The resulting global increase in demand caused prices to rise. But even before that, Tiffany was seeking the same thing, cosigning a letter in February 2024 urging President Joe Biden to lift a pause of LNG exports that had been put in place because of concerns about higher consumer prices. In November 2025, Xcel Energy announced a 15% increase in natural gas prices.
  • Tiffany’s vote for Trump’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” repealed nearly $3 billion in clean energy investments in Wisconsin, according to the non-partisan energy and climate policy think tank Energy Innovation.
  • As a state legislator in 2015, Tiffany was a member of the powerful Joint Finance Committee when he voted to eliminate funding support for the Citizens Utility Board (CUB). The next year, with CUB forced to make major staffing cuts, the PSC approved rate hikes for Alliant Energy that doubled the monthly fixed customer charge.
  • Tiffany also opposed establishing a national standard for price gouging on fuel, and he supports the attack on Iran that pushed gas prices above $4/gallon in Wisconsin.